Bête Noire
by WhisperingWolf
Summary: Alice's visions are subjective. She sees things based on what people decide. But what happens when the decisions are made too quickly and without conscious thought? Alice can't stop what she can't see. And when she sees Bella crash her truck, she fears s
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

For those of you familiar with another fanficiton forum called Twilighted, you will recognize this story. I began writing it a little over two years ago and have decided to post it here as well. I do not know when the next update will be, but please enjoy what I have so far. Thanks for reading!

Bette Noir

*~*~Chapter 1~*~*

She didn't bother to grab her coat or lock the door as she fled the house, her cell phone clutched in her hand. Freezing rain pelted down in heavy sheets, stinging her eyes and skin and soaking through her clothes as she ran to her truck, slipping twice on patches of ice along the way. A breathy, pained groan sounded over the phone – the call on speaker – and the girl felt her panic increase to a maddening level.

"Stay with me, mom," she said, her trembling voice alternating between emotionally detached and uncontrolled panic. "Just keep talking to me. _Stay with me!_"

She didn't register the loud metallic bang when she slammed her truck door shut, nor did she notice the wet ice on the seat beneath her – a product of the driver's side window being left slightly open during the rain. Ignoring her seatbelt completely, she jammed the key into the ignition and jerked hard twice, pumping the clutch madly just to get the ancient truck started.

_"Are you sure you don't want to come along, Bella?" Charlie asked, checking the Styrofoam container of worms before sealing it away in the small cooler. "It'll be fun!" _

_ Bella laughed as Charlie finished packing his fishing gear in the trunk of the cruiser and slammed the lid shut. Jogging back up the porch steps he gratefully accepted the brown lunch bag of munchies she had prepared for his road trip. _

_ "No thanks, dad," Bella chuckled, her eyes widening as he donned a fishing vest and hat. "You're actually going to _wear_ that? I thought it was just for show?" she shook her head at his bemused grin. "I'll be fine, dad," she told him as she walked out the front door after him. "Besides, sitting around for a week while you and Billy are out fishing on the lake – and who knows where else – is not my idea of a good way to spend Spring Break. No offense."_

_ "None taken," Charlie said with a half-smile as he climbed behind the wheel and revved the engine. "See you next week, Bells."_

_ "Bye, dad. Have fun!"_

The tires squealed and slipped on the wet ground, unable to find any kind of lasting traction, the roads covered in a thin layer of ice. Her truck – on a good day – topped out at fifty if she was lucky, and here on the ice and in the freezing rain she was pushing it well past its limitations. Her hands trembled as she gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned as white as Edward's skin. The truck shook beneath her, the frame and motor protesting the abuse she was putting it under.

"Mom, _talk_ to me!" she yelled at the open phone that was sliding around on the bench seat next to her. "What is the last street sign – the last landmark you can remember seeing?"

Her voice was choked by emotions too powerful to be controlled, her vision blurred by the ice and rain covering her windshield. A hissing voice that tried to form words sounded from the silver device next to her, and once more she begged her mother to speak to her. A gurgled moan was the only response she was given, followed after a long moment by a pained, exhausted whimper.

"_**No, mom! Don't**__**go to sleep!**__**Stay. Awake!"**_

She turned the corner hard, the gears grinding and protesting as she pushed the truck to go faster. The back tires spun, losing their grip on the icy road and causing the vehicle to fishtail wildly out of control. Tears of rage and desperation fell from her eyes as she fought for – and regained – control of the truck. She was panting, hyperventilating, as she struggled for control over the rising panic that threatened to drown her alive.

_"Bella, tell me you're not keeping yourself all cooped up and alone in that house while Charlie's away on one of his famous, week-long fishing trips?"_

_ Bella snorted and laughed at her mother's concern as she put the call on speaker and set the open phone on top of the basket of dirty laundry she had gathered. _

_ "I'm fine, mom," she laughed and carried the basket down the stairs and into the washroom. "I've got more than enough here to keep me occupied while he's gone."_

_ "Bella! It's your Spring Break! Your _senior_ Spring Break! You have to have fun! Do something wild and crazy to acknowledge the passing of your last year of high school." Renee paused and Bella could hear the moment inspiration took hold. "How's that boyfriend of yours?"_

_ "Edward?" Bella said shaking her head at how fast her mother could change gears in a conversation. "He's fine. I think he and his brothers have a camping trip planned. He hasn't really said if he's going yet."_

_ "Bella," Renee began casually – too casually – and the girl's eyebrow rose in suspicion. "I thought I'd come see you while you're on break from school."_

_ "I thought you hated Forks?" the girl replied as she filled and turned on the washing machine._

_ "Oh, I do," her mother agreed emphatically and giggled. "But with Phil being in a cast and all, and you being on break, it's the perfect time for a visit. Besides, a few days won't kill me."_

Racing around another dark corner, a blind curve already due to the thick foliage, the headlights of the truck flashed across the twisted and smoking remnants of a two-car crash. It was clear to anyone that the vehicles had hit head on, her mother's car so crushed it was barely recognizable. She pumped her foot furiously against the non-responsive break pedal and choked back a scream when she jerked the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting the cars and lost control. Wet rubber screeched against icy-wet asphalt and a terrified, panicked scream sounded from the girl as she raised her arms up to cover her face.

The powerful 'boom' of her truck colliding with the massive, unforgiving tree reverberated through the body of the vehicle like an earthquake, shattering the windshield and driver's side window. Her own pained, fearful cry sounded in her ears as she was thrown hard into the steering wheel, the force of the hit knocking her breath out of her and smacking her head against the side of the doorframe. Glass from the windshield had embedded itself deeply into her upper arms, and created superficial cuts along her brow and left cheek. Shaking so badly, she was afraid she would become ill; the girl did what she could to steady her breath.

Biting her lips against the pain in her head and body, she gripped the door release and pushed furiously against the truck's door, jammed from the impact. Without her seatbelt to hold her back, the girl fell hard to the icy-wet ground when the door flew open, her left wrist collapsing beneath her body with a soft crunching sound and her head knocking against the road's surface when she fell. The force of the impact knocked her unconscious.

_"So, Renee's coming to Forks, is she?" Edward said, startling Bella and smirking when she spun around to face him, her cell phone still in her hand._

_ She hissed at him much like a wet cat and he laughed as he plucked the phone from her hand, taking great delight in tucking it into her front jeans pocket. Chuckling when Bella pushed against him to no avail, he caught her around the waist and pulled her close. Rubbing his nose against the skin of her neck, just below her ear, he took in a deep breath and marveled at her scent. Perhaps he was the cat, and she his catnip. _

_ "It's just another idea of hers," Bella mused, tucking herself against his cold marble chest and reveling in the sweet scent that still pulled her in like a moth to a flame. "She said the same thing when the winter holidays came around."_

_ "Yes," he agreed, taking in another deep, greedy breath and lifting his face to look into her eyes. "But this winter we were trapped under three feet of ice and snow. Which reminds me…Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and I are all going hunting this week. We leave tonight and should be back in four or five days. Do me a favor and don't try to kill yourself while I'm gone," he requested with a pointed stare and raised brow._

_ Bella snorted in amusement at his request and then thought over his statement, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Isn't Emmett going too?" Bella asked, sitting on her bed while Edward thumbed through her meager CD collection and grimaced at the ancient desktop. "Don't even think about it Edward – a new computer is too much."_

_ He raised a brow at her and sighed his displeasure at her refusal to accept 'new' gifts. "Emmett and Rose are in the midst of one of their famous fights. Alice warned him not to pull the engine alone, but he didn't listen. What about another hand-me-down?" he asked changing the subject._

She groaned, her eyes blinking open slowly and taking too long to focus, the world around her blurred and unsteady. She found herself to be lying on her side, pain lancing up her left side when she moved her leg, the ground beneath her frozen. Movement was painful. But as she struggled to a sitting position and choked on air thick with smoke, she found breathing to be excruciating. Resting against the side of her truck, she fought against the darkness that beckoned her and the nausea that twisted her stomach into nearly unbearable knots. Looking to her right, she saw the mangled mess that was left of the two cars twisted together and knew that she had to get to her mother.

The noxious scents of burning rubber, engine smoke, and blood choked and nauseated her. Bracing her right hand on the truck's front tire she tried to pull herself to her feet. Her hand slipped on the wet rubber, her feet unable to find purchase on the wet ice and she cried out as she fell to the ground, cutting and scraping the skin of her cheekbone on the road's unforgiving surface. Tiny pebbles and glass fragments embedded themselves into the heels of her hands as she struggled for purchase and once again tried to rise.

Steeling herself against the burning, stabbing pain in her left wrist and forearm and the throbbing ache in her left knee and hip, she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Her entire body trembled violently with the effort it took to simply stay crouched on all fours. Blinking quickly as she fought once more against the darkness, and bit back the bile rising to burn the back of her throat, she looked up only to be blinded by the too bright headlights of the cars in front of her.

"Mom," she choked out weakly, not noticing when tears began streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the still falling rain.

She was dizzy – so dizzy that it took her four tries, with as many painful falls, to stand up and stay on her feet. Stumbling away from her truck, and fighting against the icy, wet road beneath her, she clenched her jaw against the pain that every move – every breath – brought and swallowed back the rising nausea. Shaking her head against the throbbing headache and vertigo that threatened to steal away her consciousness and blurred her vision, she made her way slowly, unsteadily to the twisted metal of the two cars in front of her.

The one closest to her, facing away from her, was a larger SUV – its shape and color vaguely familiar. So twisted was the front end of the SUV with the front end of her mother's car that she couldn't tell where one car ended and the other began. It looked as though the SUV had tried to devour the front end of her mother's small sedan – and succeeded. She narrowed her eyes against the fires burning in both exposed engines, the light too bright against the nearly blinding darkness of the moonless, starless night. The freezing rain still fell around her, doing nothing to ease the fires fed by engine grease and fluids.

Stumbling to the driver's side window of her mother's car, the glass of the window shattered from the crash, she looked inside. Phil sat in the passenger seat – dead from the impact, his face crushed and lifeless, blood covering the dash in front of him. Looking down at her mother, Bella choked back a horrified sob. The woman's body, from the waist down was crushed beneath the collapsed steering column and dash, the steering wheel forced so low that it was clear the bones of both the woman's thighs were broken. Body trembling with pain and emotions – too many and too strong to control – Bella reached through the window and felt for her mother's pulse and breath…Nothing. The woman was dead.

"No," Bella sobbed, tears flowing faster even as a strange calm began to settle over her.

Stumbling over to the other car, needing to know who had done this to her family, she peered in through the half-broken window and froze. Mrs. Newton sat in the driver's seat, her seatbelt the only thing supporting her slumped body. Shaking her head, her eyes wide with disbelief, she found this woman to be dead as well. Pulling her hand out of the broken window, she didn't notice when her arm scraped along an exposed shard of glass, a deep gash forming, as it embedded deeply into her flesh, her blood spilling.

There was no pain. No emotion. There was nothing. She couldn't even feel the freezing rain that soaked through her clothes and tinted her skin blue from the cold. Her mind shut down as all thought stopped and became as silent as the death surrounding her. All she knew was that she needed _them. They_ meant safety. _They _had become her home – her refuge. Turning away from the crash, she walked away, her steps stiff and unsteady as she slipped on the ice and rain covered road.

He couldn't feel the rain that fell upon him, his fur too long and thick. He never felt the cold anymore. But he could feel the wind. Oh, how he loved the wind! The feel of it whipping through his fur and pulling at his long face as he ran was heaven to him. His muzzle was split in a wide, teeth-showing grin, his tongue hanging out of the side of his jaw and flapping in the wind. The fact that he was a werewolf, running – in wolf form – on a moonless night was always a source of amusement for him and his pack. All those old stories about men possessed by the demon spirit of wolves, to turn into giant monsters only on the night of the full moon were a never ending joke among them all.

Racing down through the thick forests that connected the towns of La Push and Forks, Jacob Black thought he would run a circuit around Bella's house to be certain she was safe. Sure, they had taken care of those newborn vampires and the one behind their creation weeks ago, but with a girl like Bella, one could never be _too_ careful. Lifting his nose to the wind, Jacob was caught off guard by the scent of blood. Familiar blood. _Bella's_ blood. Slamming full body into a tree in his haste to follow the scent, Jacob skidded and rolled down a slippery-wet embankment, before gaining purchase and running full boar at the trail in front of him.

It didn't take him long at all to come across the scene of the accident. Phasing back into his human form, he stepped out of the trees barefoot and clad only in a pair of black sweatpants. Her blood was smeared on the front, top corner of the driver's side door frame, and then again on the top of the front tire covered by the wheel well. From the looks of it her truck was totaled. But Bella was nowhere in sight. Snatching up the cell phone that lay open and precariously balanced on the edge of the passenger's seat, Jacob called authorities to the scene before moving to check on the occupants of the other cars.

His breath hissed in sharply when he recognized the familial scent and knew the woman in the sedan to be Bella's mother. The dead man next to her must be her new husband, Phil. Moving to the larger vehicle, he again found the scent of Bella's blood to be overwhelming and saw the blood covering the broken glass of the driver's shattered window. The scene was grizzly enough for anyone to come across, but for the person to have been Bella? He shook his head and moved away from the cars searching for Bella's scent as he tried to find her. Cursing the rain that had washed away any trail, he closed his eyes and fought for control over the raging waves of fear and worry and he felt for Bella. Dark eyes snapped open in the night as Jacob raced for the cover of the trees and once again phased into his wolf form. There was only one place Bella would go to for safety and comfort. Growling as he snatched the phone in his canine jaw and was careful not to snap the device in pieces, he raced through the woods, a blur of dark russet fur and white fang.

"You realize, of course, that Ramirez is going to win the match, Emmett," Carlisle said confidently as he hung his scarf and dark wool coat in the hall closet, setting his medical bag on the floor inside.

"Connelly's got some mad skills though," Emmett replied just as confident in the Irish fighter, not looking away from the free-style boxing match he was watching. "He's good at reading his opponent's moves."

"Perhaps," Carlisle agreed, joining Emmett on the couch as he too watched the feather-weight match that was promised to be the fight of the year. "But Connelly's not nearly fast enough to avoid Ramirez's blows. Esme?"

"In the basement searching for something she wanted to give Bella before the wedding. Wouldn't tell me what it was," Emmett said with an almost pout and the gentle chime of Esme's laughter could be heard from the direction of the laundry room.

"That's because you can't keep a secret to save your life!" Esme laughed, her voice carrying on the wind like a bird's song.

Carlisle chuckled and stood. "She's right," he mused before disappearing through the house.

Emmett groaned and cursed Carlisle for being right when Ramirez landed a knock-out blow on Connelly, effectively ending the match. He heard Carlisle laugh at him as he turned off the television and stood, tossing the remote on the low table in front of the couch. Walking through the front rooms of the house, Emmett came to stand beside the glass paneled front door and looked outside into the falling rain. The side of his mouth pulled up in a half-smile as he hoped that wherever Rosalie was, the rain was with her as well, perhaps it would cool her temper down.

Staring into the darkness, his eyes narrowed as a familiar scent caught his attention and he opened the door to step outside. The scent was dulled, diluted by the rain, but impossible to ignore. His jaw fell open, his eyes widening in abject horror as a figure – hidden by shadows and drenched from the rain – came stumbling around the curve of the long road leading up to his house. Slipping in the rain and ice, the figure moved stiffly and unsteadily, much like the zombies in all those bad horror movies Jasper loved to watch and laugh at. Standing just under the overhang of the front porch, Emmett closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

"God, no," he whispered horrified. "Carlisle!" he called out desperately as he raced toward the figure, moving so fast he was unseen.

She was shaking, trembling violently as she walked, her steps slowing. Blood mixed with the sill-falling rain and dripped down her arm and face to the frozen road below as her teeth chattered in the cold she couldn't feel. The darkness surrounding her, pulling at her brain, beckoned to her once more and this time she could no longer resist. Emmett caught Bella's limp body in his arms as she fell weightless to the frozen ground. Swinging her up to cradle her body against his chest, Emmett fought back the mix of anger and helplessness he felt at the injuries he could both see and feel on Bella's slight frame. Turning when he felt Carlisle's hand on his shoulder, he looked at his adoptive vampire father desperately.

"What could have done this to her? Why didn't Alice see this coming?"

"I don't know, Emmett."

Carlisle clenched his jaw against the almost insane need to take the girl from Emmett's arms and hold her in his own. In such a short time Bella had become part of the family: a daughter to he and Esme, a sister to the one holding her and the others away hunting, and a soon-to-be wife to Edward. They both watched as Bella's eyes opened, but no life could be seen held within. Emmett called her name, hoping to get any kind of response from the girl in his arms, but nothing came of it.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked desperately of Carlisle.

"She's in shock. Whatever caused her injuries has left her traumatized. Come, Emmett, we need to get her out of the rain."

Refusing to release his hold on the girl he loved as a sister, Emmett sped to the house, both he and Carlisle invisible in their speed. Esme stood in the open front door, her eyes impossibly wide when she caught sight and smell of Bella, tears filling her eyes when the girl failed to respond to the sound of her name. Trembling as she looked to her husband for any kind of answer, Esme fought not to cry.

"Gather blankets and towels, as many as you can find," Carlisle ordered his wife, drawing her into a quick, tight hug, before kissing her brow and releasing her. "She'll be alright, Esme. Go," he told her, watching as she disappeared in a blur.

Moving to the hall closet and retrieving his medical bag, Carlisle stepped into the kitchen to find that Emmett still had not relinquished his hold on the girl cradled in his arms. Laying his hand on the younger vampire's shoulder, he looked into eyes that were an odd mix of black and gold.

"She'll be alright, Emmett," he assured him.

"Look at her, Carlisle," Emmett said, his voice hoarse with strained emotion. "She doesn't even recognize us. How can you say she'll be ok?"

"She will be," he said once more, taking a dark red fleece blanket from his wife and spreading it out across the kitchen table's large, oval surface. "Lay her down, Emmett. Esme, help me get these wet clothes off of her."

Esme nodded and handed Emmett a towel. She carefully began undoing the buttons of Bella's shirt, biting her lip to keep from sobbing aloud when she saw that the three middle buttons were cracked and broken. Standing by her head, Emmett carefully wrapped the terry-cloth towel in his hands around Bella's long hair and gently squeezed the water from it, drying the locks slowly. Growls sounded from all three vampires when they were startled by the sudden loud, and almost angry pounding at the front door.

"I'll get it," Emmett hissed, bending down to kiss Bella's forehead before moving away.

"Emmett." Carlisle warned the younger vampire to keep his temper.

"What could have done this?" Esme asked, her fingers barely gracing Bella's icy skin as she traced the angry red half-circle bruise that covered most of her torso.

Emmett reappeared seconds later with Jacob Black by his side, the teen clad only in a pair of black sweatpants. Stepping up to the table slowly, he moved cautiously around the vampires he knew would be far more fierce in their protection of Bella now that she was lying injured on their kitchen table. The girl was nude, save the two towels: one covering her chest, and one covering her hips. Her eyes were open and unseeing, her skin tinted blue from being out too long in the freezing rain. Waiting to move until Carlisle nodded his consent, Jacob gently cupped her icy cheek in his fever-warm palm.

"Carlisle and Emmett found her outside a few moments ago," Esme said, her voice trembling, tears glistening in her eyes. "We don't know what happened to her."

"She ran her truck into a tree." Jacob's factual statement had all three vampires focused on him with undivided attention. "I don't know if she knew where she was going, or if she just happened upon it," he said and described to them the scene of the crash.

"Bella," Esme cried the girl's name, her hands flying up to cover her open mouth as she shook her head, her eyes wide.

"She's so cold," Jacob said his voice a whisper. "I can't imagine how long it took her to get here. The crash was over four miles from here. In her condition…she must have been walking for more than an hour."

With a single nod of his blond head, Carlisle directed Emmett and Jacob to move away as he opened his medical bag and began taking out the needed instruments. Esme stood watching, tears glistening in her eyes, as her husband took up a set of shining silver tweezers and began extracting automotive glass from Bella's face, her palms, and then worst – her arms. The small soup bowl that Esme had set next to the girl's hip was nearly filled with shards of blood-covered glass. Some of the pieces were so small that she doubted a human doctor would have seen them, yet other pieces were so large and jagged – especially from Bella's right arm – that it hurt to watch Carlisle remove them.

Searching for any kind of distraction from the scene in front of her, Esme listened as Jacob and Emmett discussed the scene of the crash in low voices. Esme found herself thankful that she and Emmett seemed to be immune to the nearly hypnotic pull of the girl's blood, wondering just how much more would be spilled before all the glass was extracted. Carlisle looked up at his wife and knew that if she were able, she would be awash in her own tears. Bella was their newest daughter, and though she had yet to become a vampire, she was already an intricate and irreplaceable member of the Cullen family.

"She'll be alright, Esme," Carlisle assured his wife, looking into her wide eyes. "For the most part, it looks worse than it is." Nodding to the area of her chest that the towel didn't cover, Carlisle's eyes looked upon the visible part of the darkening half-circle bruise. "She's badly bruised from her impact with the steering wheel, but none of her ribs or her sternum are broken."

"There's so much glass," Esme said, her voice a horrified whisper. "What she found…her mother and Phil…what Jacob described…Carlisle," her voice broke off on a whimper as she shook her head, mourning for what the girl had been through. "Where's Charlie?"

"Week long fishing trip with Billy Black up in La Push," Emmett said as he came back to the table and looked down at Bella and then over at Jacob, as the werewolf moved closer to the table slowly. "I went with him a few days ago to get a new hunting knife and fishing line for his trip. He wanted my take on how committed Edward was to Bella…He made me promise to take care of Bella while he was gone." Emmett's voice was full of grief as he blamed himself for failing to protect his newest sister.

"No one could have known this would happen, Emmett," Carlisle said as he gently cleaned and stitched the long gash on the inside of Bella's right arm. "Not even Alice knew."

Needing something to do to keep herself calm, Esme gathered up the soaked towels and Bella's soaked and torn clothing and put them in the washing machine. Bracing her hands against the top of the front-loading machine, she absently turned it on, a sob breaking from deep in her throat. It hurt her so badly to see Bella lying still as death on the kitchen table. Of course she could hear the girl's heartbeat, weak though it was, but the sound wasn't nearly enough to assure her that everything would be alright. Disappearing up the back staircase, she returned seconds later with a pillow and gently tucked it under Bella's head.

Brushing his hand against her exposed shoulder, Emmett stepped up to stand behind Bella's head and bent down low. Resting his forehead – upside down – against hers, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply of her scent. It was a meager, pathetic substitute for the hug he wished he could give her, but for now it would have to do. Straightening up, he walked into the front room, retrieving his vibrating cell phone from his pocket and answering the call, Jacob following close behind when he heard Alice's voice.

Even moving with his enhanced speed and abilities, it had taken Carlisle nearly an hour to extract all of the shards of glass and stitch up her open wounds. Once all of her cuts and scrapes had been cleaned and bandaged, he had Esme lift Bella while he changed out the blood covered blanket beneath her for a new one. Touching his cheek to his wife's, Carlisle once again assured her that Bella would be all right. Gathering up every bit of blood soaked fabric, gauze and cotton, Carlisle walked to the fire Emmett had lit in the stone fireplace and threw the items into the flames. Returning to Bella, he found Jacob to be standing by her side, seemingly frozen in place as he looked down upon her still form – his bronze face taught with concern.

"She'll be alright," Carlisle assured the teen. "Be very careful," he warned as he took Jacob's wrist and guided him to lay his open palm on Bella's chest just below the curve of her collarbone. "Do what you can to focus your body heat into her. Until I have _all_ of her injuries assessed and tended to, I can't put her in a bath."

Jacob nodded and placed his other hand on her abdomen, cringing at the feel of her ice cold skin. A sudden thought occurred to the wolf and his brow furrowed in concentration as he sniffed at her. Cursing his ability for not being enough, he looked up at the doctor only to find him staring back curiously.

"She isn't?" Jacob asked quickly, his eyes flicking between Bella's abdomen and Carlisle.

"No," Carlisle assured him, understanding the unfinished question. "I checked for internal bleeding first."

Jacob nodded and looked back down at Bella. His breath came in sharp pants, his nostrils flaring, as he felt the sudden and uncontrolled need to rip something apart. Shaking his head at Carlisle's unvoiced question, he stepped away from the table quickly and fled the room for fear of hurting Bella unintentionally. He could feel the vibrations and currents of energy spiraling up his spine and tingling around his arms, making him feel as if he were coming undone. If he didn't get himself under control soon, he would end up phasing into his wolf form inside the Cullen manor.

Carlisle was gentle and meticulous as he probed Bella, searching for unseen breaks or fractures. It seemed to him that her left side had taken most of the damage, and he winced when he felt her swollen left wrist. The wrist bones felt almost crushed, the tops of her ulna and radial bones, where they connected to her wrist bones, felt cracked with hairline fractures. Retrieving a hard brace from his medical bag, he carefully wrapped the wrist, setting the break temporarily. He knew he would have to take her into the hospital for a series of X-rays to be able to fully assess the damage done.

Moving down to carefully probe her swelling and bruised hip, he found that thankfully nothing had been broken or dislocated. _She must have fallen out of her truck to do this much damage,_ Carlisle thought as he looked down at the knee of the same leg. It, as well, was badly bruised and showing signs of swelling, but didn't appear to be seriously injured. Securing her knee in a brace to be on the safe side, he moved down to her feet. He shook his head sadly. Both ankles were swollen and, from the feel of them, only sprained. Wrapping them carefully in ACE bandages, he made a mental note to pick up a few ice packs from the corner store.

The scent of salt caught Carlisle's attention and his focus was immediately on Bella's face. Her eyes were tightly closed; her lips and chin trembling as she fought to control the tears that streamed from the corners of her eyes. Stepping up to her side, he cupped her right – mostly uninjured – cheek in his palm and chaffed the skin of her cheekbone with feather-light brushes of his thumb.

"You're safe, Bella," Carlisle assured her, his voice gentle and soothing. "You made it home to us, honey."

A choked sob sounded from her, her body trembling. He knew the movement must have been agonizing for her, but he gladly accepted Bella in his arms when she opened her eyes and launched herself at him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and he kissed her damp hair. Cupping the back of her head in one hand, he wrapped his other arm carefully around her bare back, holding her to him as she clung to him. She kept her face pressed into the soft, knitted fabric of his sweater as she sobbed uncontrollably, the feel and sound of her tears breaking his heart.

Esme was at his side instantly, her voice low and gentle as she whispered soothing bits of nonsense to the girl that she loved as one of her own. Refusing to relinquish her hold on Carlisle, Bella leaned just enough to the side to rest the side of her head against Esme as she felt the woman stroke her hair and rub her lower back in slow circles. Seconds later she felt a thick fleece blanket surround her as Emmett carefully wrapped her in its copious folds and hugged her from behind. He spoke to Carlisle, too fast and too low to be understood by anyone other than Esme, relaying the conversation he'd had with Alice.

"I'm here, kiddo," Emmett assured Bella when he heard his name, broken and muffled by sobs, come from the girl.

Jacob looked on them from the open entryway that led into the front room, feeling as though he were spying on an intimate moment. His heart twisted and ached painfully, jealousy and the too-powerful sense of loss impaling his spirit. He had always hoped that some way – _some how_ – Bella would choose him over Edward. But now as he stood watching the three vampires that were wrapped around Bella, listened as they soothed and comforted the girl in her darkest hour, he could understand why she had always insisted that there _was_ no choice to be made.

Bella may love him, but she loved _all_ of the Cullens so much more. In such a short time, she had somehow become a member of their family. Vampire or not, the Cullens loved Bella unconditionally and would protect and care for her – no questions asked – until the very end. It was in that very moment that he knew, no matter what, Bella would never – _could _never – choose him.

Jacob felt the hollow fissure in his heart tear deep and bleed unchecked within him. The spacious house had suddenly become suffocating and the need to get out – to run as a wolf and howl his misery – was more than he could bear. Nearly colliding with Jasper on his way out the front door, Jacob phased into his wolf form before his feet had even touched the house's drive, his sweatpants shredding behind him.

Walking through the house, Jasper was taken back by the intensity of Bella's pain, both physical and emotional. Stepping up to the table, he eased the others away from her and scooped Bella up into his arms, blanket and all. Cradling the sobbing, blanket-wrapped girl to his chest, he carried her into the front room and sat down on the couch with her in his lap. Tucking her face, wet with tears that couldn't be stopped, into the curve of his neck, he rocked her slowly.

Soothing ribbons of safety and comfort began weaving through the madness of the uncontrollable grief and fear she felt, calming the raging tide of her emotions to a more manageable level. Her arms escaped the blanket only to twine around his neck and shoulder as she cried, clinging to him desperately. Jasper cupped her head and stroked her hair as he slowly infused a gentle calm into her, knowing that if he were to act too quickly, he could send her into shock. She was nearly asleep in his arms when he looked up at the others, careful to shield Bella from the overwhelming concern he felt for her.

"What happened?" Jasper asked Carlisle, adjusting Bella to cradle her in the crook of his shoulder as the patriarch of their family gave the girl a dose of morphine. "Alice just suddenly sent me away, saying that Bella needed me and that I had to hurry. She never mentioned anything about Bella being hurt like _this_," he flicked his eyes over her body, hidden within the blanket.

Carlisle brushed the backs of his fingers down Bella's cheek, careful to avoid the cuts on her skin – hot from her tears – as he watched sleep finally claim the girl. Without looking up from Bella, Carlisle relayed all that Jacob had told them, as well as how he and Emmett had found her wondering outside, nearly catatonic, in the rain. Jasper unconsciously held the girl in his arms closer, his jaw tightening as he wondered just which cruel fates had decided to tag team on his newest sister and why.

"She's still cold," Jasper said. "I can feel her shivering."

"I'll draw her a hot bath," Esme said, moving away from the group at her husband's nod of approval.

"Do you think Jacob will tell Charlie what's happened?" Emmett asked as he looked down on Bella's sleeping face.

"With the emotions that I felt coming from him when he ran out of here, I doubt it," Jasper said. "I bet it'll be a few days before he even phases back to his human form."

Bella whimpered in her sleep, calling out brokenly for her mother and Jasper held her closer, using his talent to wrap her in a cocoon of calm and comfort. Esme reappeared a short moment later and looked down on Bella with the concern of a mother for her beloved child. Gently taking her from Jasper, Esme carried Bella up the stairs and into the waiting bath. Closing his eyes as he followed Bella with his talent, Jasper felt the first stirrings of her fear reappearing. Shaking his head sadly, Jasper disappeared up the stairs in a blur of motion and color.

"Come in," Esme bid her adoptive son quietly, Bella trembling in the bathwater, covered by a well placed hand towel.

"Bella?" Jasper spoke her name, opening the door only an inch or two. "Can I come in?"

Nodding her head, Bella suddenly remembered he couldn't see her and whimpered out a trembling 'yes'.

"She woke when I lowered her into the water," Esme said, too low for Bella to hear.

Jasper nodded and moved to the side of the tub kneeling down next to the girl inside. Her hands came out of the water, dripping onto his clothes as she desperately grabbed onto his hand. Moving close enough to kiss her temple, Jasper turned to Esme. Sure, he knew how to manipulate emotions: calm an angry crowd, enliven the subdued; but he had very little experience with someone grieving as much and as deeply as Bella. He wasn't sure what the right move was. Did he calm her emotions for her? Or was he suppose to let her feel the grief and move past it on her own?

His answer was made for him when Bella suddenly grabbed tightly onto his shoulders and – had he been human – would've pulled him into the water with her. She was trembling violently, uncontrollably, the water forming small waves from her movement.

"Shh," he whispered to her, petting her hair.

"I – I c-can't – _please!_"

"I'm right here, Bella," Jasper promised her and took control of her emotions, soothing her back to sleep. "I'm right here."

"Once she's warmed up a bit," Esme said as she felt the water's temperature, "I'll dry her off and put her to bed. Stay with her until Edward gets back. She's going to need you – and your talent – a lot in the coming days. Don't be surprised to be fighting off her nightmares; I'm sure there will be plenty."

Jasper nodded and breathed deeply before releasing Bella into Esme's careful hands.

"I'll be outside." _Damn you. Whatever god, or fate or spirit that you are – why Bella? What has she ever done to deserve this kind of pain? _Leaning his back against the wall outside the bathroom door, Jasper closed his eyes and slid down to sit on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Bette Noir

Chapter 2

_I know that because of what I am, forgetting something – especially something that has a lasting emotional impact – is highly unlikely, if not completely impossible. Be that as it may, what happened last night is something that I never want to forget – no matter how long I live. _

Carlisle walked slowly up the stairs to the private rooms above. He didn't know why he felt such hesitancy, such caution – it was as though he thought perhaps she might not be there when he came to the door. This was his house, his family's home, but at that very moment in time it felt like the start of some bad dream.

_Esme is the strongest woman I know and I find her more beautiful everyday because of it. But last night, after all was said and done, I watched that strength fade as she sobbed in my arms for what felt like hours. I think watching her break down like that scared me more than anything else…Then again, perhaps she cried for both of us. _

Carlisle opened the door to the room he shared with Esme soundlessly. She sat on the long cushioned window seat, her temple resting against the smooth glass. Her eyes were closed and she was so still that, had she been human, he would've thought her to be sleeping. A whisper of air was all the sound he made as he came instantly to her side. Tucking her caramel colored hair behind her ear; he bent down and kissed her cheek.

"She'll be just fine. She just needs rest."

He spoke to her with barely a sound. There was no need for his voice to be audible on a human level. He watched his wife, her eyes opening so very slowly for one of their kind, and when she looked up at him the expression of worry and grief on her face nearly undid him. He kissed her cheek once more before sitting next to her, facing her with his leg resting alongside hers.

"She looked so broken," Esme said, her voice trembling.

Carlisle reached out, his smooth palm cupping her cheek. "She's strong, Esme. She's been through a rough night, and yes, she's experienced some trauma. Physically, she will be all right."

"What about mentally, Carlisle? Or emotionally, for that matter?" she asked, his words not as comforting to her as he had hoped they would be. "Have you spoken to Jasper yet this morning?" she asked and he was confused by her change in subject.

"No. Why?" he asked her, running the fingers of one hand through her hair that hung over her left shoulder.

"You need to." Her answer was simple, yet it left him confused all the same.

Kissing her full, soft lips, he stood. "She'll be fine," he said again before ghosting out of their room.

_Bella Swan is human – for now – but even still she is my daughter. She holds Edward's heart – and thus, his eternal life – in her very delicate hands. She is beloved by this family. Even Rosalie, for all of her protestations, would be greatly affected if Bella were to somehow be lost from us. Edward surely would employ the wrath of the Volturi if she were to die without becoming a vampire – as he tried to do once before when he thought her to be lost from him. _

Coming to stand just outside the door of the room Alice and Jasper shared, he raised his hand to knock, surprised when instead, Jasper's voice came from Edward's bedroom. Turning and slipping easily inside Edward's room, he was surprised to find Jasper lying upon the overly large wrought-iron bed that dominated the area, Bella asleep in his arms. Walking slowly to the bed, Carlisle sat down behind Bella, the girl lying on her right side, her face tucked into the side of Jasper's throat. Carlisle knew that position couldn't be comfortable at all for her, not with numerous injuries she had, but perhaps it was the only way she could sleep.

Jasper's eyes, an odd mix of gold and black, met Carlisle's in the hazy light of the pre-dawn morning. Carefully pulling back the covers and lifting the back of the long, button-down shirt the girl had been dressed in, Carlisle looked at the injuries on her back. Not nearly as severe as the others, the injuries to her back consisted mostly of bruises and a few superficial scrapes. He couldn't imagine just how many times she must have fallen last night on her way to get to them. Taking in a deep, steadying breath, Carlisle spoke to Jasper, his voice too low to be heard by human ears.

"How has she slept?" the good doctor asked, watching the expression on Jasper's face as he answered.

"Fitfully," the younger vampire said, smoothing Bella's hair when the girl murmured in her sleep and tried to tuck herself closer to him. "Shh," he whispered to her, knowing that she needed to hear his voice just as much as she need the physical reassurance that she wasn't alone. "It's all right, Bella, you're safe," he promised her, projecting feelings of comfort and safety through the darkness of her slumber. "It's harder to reach her when she's asleep. Her emotions skitter back and forth so quickly, and when I project to her – it feels like she tries to bury herself inside of me emotionally."

"Has she talked at all?" Carlisle asked as he gently probed her left shoulder for any wounds that may not have been obvious the night before.

"Yeah," Jasper's voice was oddly choked – pained even – when he answered and Carlisle's eyes snapped back to his. "From what she's said in her sleep…it seems as though she was on the phone with her mother when the crash happened. She was trying to get to her mother when she crashed her truck."

Carlisle was still as stone for a long moment, his mind understanding what Jasper was telling him. The worry and grief he had felt last night for the girl was absolutely nothing compared to what he felt now.

"She heard her mother crash her car…" Jasper nodded solemnly. "She heard her mother die?"

"Yes."

Bella whimpered again, tried to tuck herself closer to Jasper as her body began trembling. Her fear was nearly overwhelming and Jasper struggled as he tried to chase it away. She gasped harshly, her eyes opening only to close again the next second. She seemed to calm and Jasper sighed with relief when his efforts to soothe her settled her down to sleep quietly again.

"She's been having trouble breathing," Jasper said quietly. "She keeps calling for Edward. Is there any word yet?"

"I tried to call him a few hours ago. He left his cell in the Volvo." Carlisle closed his eyes, concentrating as he listened to the raspy sound of Bella's breathing. Touching his hand to her face, he found her temperature to be elevated. "She's getting sick. The rain last night…we don't know how long she was out in it. You saw how cold she was when you came home, but when we found her, she was soaked to the bone, her clothes slightly crusted with ice."

_It is very difficult to harm our kind. Even being within the immediate vicinity of an explosion will only slow us down for a bit. We are immortal. We are very nearly invincible. Bella doesn't have that advantage – that protection. For now, Bella is human and easily hurt. Even though we are constant patrons to the concert of her heartbeat, it seems that we forget too easily that she in fact breakable. Last night was proof, to both my family as well as the werewolves she's befriended, as to just how fragile she truly is._

"When I was driving back from hunting last night – the display on the dash said that it was zero degrees Fahrenheit… Alice and I hadn't gotten two hundred miles away from Forks before she was jumping out of the Jeep and telling me I had to come back here. Rosalie and Edward were already across the Canadian border by that time." Jasper shifted uneasily beneath Bella. "Carlisle, I need to hunt."

Carlisle nodded, gently easing Bella off of Jasper and rolling her to lie on her back. Immediately, Jasper found himself to be missing the warmth of her body, the soft puffs of her warm, moist breath against his skin. Sitting up, he looked down at Bella, his brow creasing in worry.

"Her nightmares have been constant. She needs physical contact with another to be able to sleep." Carlisle nodded as he undid the buttons of the shirt and assessed the wounds he'd tended to last night. Bella whimpered once more, her right hand flexing. "Jasper," she called her voice a broken whimper even as her eyes remained closed.

"Shh." Jasper kissed her forehead. "Go back to sleep, honey."

"Go," Esme told Jasper from where she stood in the doorway. "I'll stay with her."

Jasper nodded, opening the glass wall of Edward's room and jumping down to the ground below. Esme was at Bella's side in an instant, neither one paying any attention as the front door opened and closed. Seconds later, Edward was standing in the doorway to his room, looking down on Bella's bruised and broken body, his face aghast.

"_What happened?_" his voice was rough, pained as he came closer to the end of the intricately sculpted bed and looked down at the girl he loved. "What happened?"

_I have written these words, told what happened to the best of my knowledge. I have described in full medical detail, the extent of Bella's wounds and how I have treated them. I know that someday, perhaps long after Bella has truly joined my family, that Edward will need to read these words. He will need the rational story of all that happened last night, the version not overshadowed by the emotions of the events. He will need the clinical explanation of Dr. Cullen, and not the worried and frightened words of a father. _

Carlisle replayed his memories from the night before, watching Edward's face as he pulled the thoughts from his mind. His son seemed to choke at one point, an impossibility for their kind. But then he was still, so very still. Careful not move her wrist too much, Carlisle gently felt the bones in the back of her left hand, looking for any fractures he may have missed the night before.

"When?" Edward asked, casting a grateful look upon Esme when she took one of his hands and offered him her strength. "When do you need to take her into the hospital?" he clarified his question at Carlisle's confused thoughts.

"Soon. Her wrist is most definitely broken. I need to know how bad the break is. It's possible that she may need surgery to set it completely."

Edward nodded and then turned his attention to the forest outside the window, watching as Emmett crushed a boulder beneath his fist. His brother was blaming himself for Bella's condition. Turning his attention on Esme, he asked for an explanation of Emmett's self-recrimination, his brother's thoughts not making any sense to him.

"Charlie asked Emmett to protect Bella while he was gone fishing this week. Emmett promised him he would." Esme accepted Edward's embrace with a trembling smile, feeling her eyes prick as her son comforted her.

"Do you mind if I lay with her instead?" he asked Esme, knowing she wouldn't mind, but also needing to let her know that he appreciated the worry she felt for Bella.

"Of course not," she answered him, her arms tightening before she released him. "I should go to the store, restock the kitchen for her."

"Applesauce," Edward said. "Charlie told me she tends to eat quite a bit of it when she's not feeling well. A kind of comfort food, I guess."

Esme nodded and kissed Bella's forehead before leaving the room. Carlisle watched his wife leave, listened as she started the Mercedes and drove away. He didn't want her alone when she was upset like this, but at the same time he knew that she needed to keep busy. Edward nudged Carlisle with his shoulder, making certain the man was paying attention to him.

"Esme's holding her own. She's more worried about how Bella will be emotionally, than anything else."

_She was so upset last night_, Carlisle thought as he stared down at Bella, his lips drawn in a taught line. _I've never felt anyone cry like that._

"Bella? Or Esme?" Edward asked in response to Carlisle's thoughts.

_Both_. "You saw my memories from last night."

"Esme's as well," Edward said softly, his eyes narrowing as he stared intently on the large half-circle bruise covering Bella's chest. "Are you certain nothing is broken?" he asked, lightly tracing the darkening, discolored skin. "This bruise is…are you _sure _nothing is broken?" he asked again.

"Very certain," Carlisle said as he closed and re-buttoned the shirt Bella wore. "When I take her into the hospital, I'll be running a full skeletal x-ray." _Maybe I should run an MRI as well, to be safe._

"An MRI?" Edward's head had snapped up at Carlisle's errant thought and now he stared at his father with rapt attention. "You think there's something else? Something we're missing?"

"Edward, calm down." Carlisle placed a hand on his son's shoulder, offering him his support. "She hit her head pretty hard and more than once last night. I don't know how many times for certain, but it was at least twice. She could have a concussion. It was errant thought, at any rate. She will be all right, Edward. Edward, look at me," Carlisle demanded when he turned his face away and waited for his son to face him once more. "Bella will be all right. If there had been any real threat to her health – to her survival as a human – last night, I would've changed her then. Physically, she's just banged up a bit. It could have been a lot worse. Right now, it is her mental and emotional state that most concerns me."

Edward nodded as he turned his attention once again to the girl lying between them asleep. Brushing his fingertips over the undamaged portions of her face, he studied her while she slept. He kept his mind focused on Carlisle as the man continued to examine Bella, listening to his assessment of her wounds. Turning around, he kicked off his shoes and laid down next to Bella. He was instantly concerned when he noticed that the usual warmth he felt from her had escalated into a slow burn.

"She has a fever," Edward told Carlisle, concern creasing his brow.

"Yes, I know. It may get worse. She was out in the cold and the rain for a long while." He turned his attention on Edward and looked into his eyes, black as coal. "Did you hunt at _all_, Edward?"

"I heard Alice screaming for me in her thoughts, before I got more than an adolescent mountain cat. When I saw her vision, I ran here. I didn't stop for anything," Edward looked toward the open door of his room. "Alice is back, but Rose is still out hunting."

_Please let her be okay. Please. _Edward could hear Alice pleading. He could see in her thoughts that she had seen what had taken place last night – or at least most of it. From what he could tell, she hadn't been able to see Bella at all from the moment she crashed her truck to the time when Emmett found her staggering in the rain

What worried her most was that she hadn't been able to see Bella at all from the point of impact or from the moments directly following Emmett's discovery of her. Jacob Black, being the werewolf that he was, blocked her visions. For all she knew, Bella could be screaming in the fire-inducing pain of Carlisle's venom. Seconds later Alice was standing in the open doorway of his room, staring down at Bella, her dark eyes wide as saucers in her small face. She was silent, shaking terribly with unheard sobs, her tiny hands flashing up to cover all but her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief.

_My family – every member – loves Bella so much. To see her lying so still, broken and in pain, is almost too much for any of them to bear. This gentle, loving girl witnessed her mother's accident through a phone call, listened to her die as she raced in the ice and rain to get to her. She then nearly died herself. It is still inconceivable to me how she was able to walk to us – over four miles through the ice and rain, her mind frozen in shock – with the injuries she has. Charlie, her biological father, has no cell phone. He is away for at least five more days – perhaps completely unreachable by conventional means –on a lake somewhere beyond our reach. And I can only hope that Jacob will find the strength to tell him what has happened._

_I must take Bella into the hospital today for a complete x-ray panel and blood count. I don't know precisely how much blood she lost last night, but I do know that it was more than a pint. Her continued vertigo and exhaustion tells me that it may be enough that she would need a transfusion. Her rest has not been peaceful, though I don't know that I really expected that it would be. Thankfully, Edward came home early this morning; exactly one hour and thirty-two minutes before I began this journal entry. He is with her now, holding her whilst she sleeps. When Esme returns, the three of us will take her into the hospital. I must be certain that we are unseen by the staff – or at least that no one sees Bella – they would never let me leave the hospital with her if they do. Perhaps I should contact the hospital's supplier, make arrangements for a portable x-ray machine and other necessary equipment to be brought to my home. That way should anything unforeseen like this happen again, I can easily care for her here. It is something to consider._

Carlisle looked up from the open leather-bound, parchment-paged journal on his desk, his pen poised above the page. He had been so wrapped up in the entry he was writing, that he almost missed the silent knock on his closed office door. Setting his ball-point, black ink fountain pen down in the trench between the pages, he bid Emmett entrance to his office. The dark-haired vampire entered slowly, staying close to the walls as he entered the room and skirted around the edges. It was clear to anyone how much the younger man blamed himself for Bella's current condition.

"No one blames you, Emmett," Carlisle said as he stood from his desk and moved soundlessly to stand beside his distraught son. "No one could have known."

Emmett looked into the kind, golden eyes of his eternal father and friend; his own eyes the darkest black and deeply troubled.

"She could have died," his voice was hoarse, pained and very quiet when he spoke.

Carlisle placed a reassuring hand on Emmett's shoulder. "We all know what Bella's choice would have been, Emmett. Had it come to that, I would have made her one of us."

Emmett shook his head, his eyes filled with doubt and fear. "What if she'd never left her truck? What if she'd never made it here? She could've been hit by a car when she was walking here and we never would have known!"

An aura of calm settled over Emmett and he looked back to see Jasper standing in the open doorway, his eyes a warm, concerned gold. At Carlisle's nod, Jasper walked further into the room, coming to stand near the two of them, but not interfering with the ongoing conversation.

"Bella is _safe._ She did make it to us, Emmett. She is here now and she is going to be just fine. That is what we need to be focused on, not what could have happened." Carlisle looked away from Emmett and toward the doorway when he heard Bella's heartbeat grow closer. "Edward?" the patriarch questioned.

Edward stood still, just inside the open door, but not fully inside the room. Bella was held, cradled in his arms and tucked against his chest. Her cheek rested against his shoulder, her eyes closed, and Carlisle thought her to be asleep in his son's arms.

"She wanted to see Emmett," Edward explained as he moved further into the room and walked toward his dark-haired brother. "She could hear your voice last night," he spoke to Emmett, "but couldn't remember seeing you at all. She was worried." Looking down at the drowsing girl in his arms, he nuzzled his cheek against her hair. "Bella, I've found Emmett."

Bella moaned softly, her eyes opening slowly as she blinked away her momentary disorientation. She was so tired, too tired to think clearly. Movement was difficult, slow and took so much concentration on her part that simply holding a cup to take a drink of water had the power to exhaust her completely. Breathing wasn't too fun either, and as she breathed in deeply, her chest and ribs felt as though they were on fire. Releasing a soft sigh, Bella hid her face in Edward's chest as she yawned gently, her love smiling down at her. Turning away from Edward's chest, Bella looked up, her head pounding viciously as she searched for Emmett.

"I'm right here, Bella," Emmett said, his voice rough, when she spoke his name, her voice exhausted and uncertain.

Her eyes found him and she blinked tiredly at him, having to focus her tired, aching mind on the task she wanted to perform. She reached out her right hand to him, her fingers twining around his, when he took her smaller hand in his large, cool palm. Wincing at the twinge of pain from the stitched gash running nearly the entire length of her right forearm, she looked back at Edward. She knew that he couldn't read her thoughts, but she also knew he'd be able to read her expression and know what she wanted. Her tired mind was simply too slow to form the request with any kind of coherence.

"She wants you," Edward told Emmett, kissing Bella's temple as he carefully placed her into Emmett's waiting arms.

"Hey, Bells," Emmett spoke to her softly, almost as though he were afraid to speak any louder.

Bella curled herself against his chest, wincing at the pain she was in and fighting against the growing exhaustion that seemed to be consuming her. She felt a cool kiss to her temple as ribbons of safety and calm wrapped around her, soothing her. She turned her head to look at Jasper, wanting to reach out to him as well. He could feel her emotional embrace of him and smiled down gently at her, stroking her hair back away from her face.

"You have to let me know if I'm hurting you," she told Jasper, her tired voice strained with pain and the distraught emotions she was trying desperately to control for both their benefits.

"You let me worry about that," he told her, rubbing his knuckle beneath her eye and catching a bit of moisture on his skin. He turned to address Carlisle and found the man to be standing back, silently observing the four of them. "She's in a great deal of physical pain," he told the doctor. "And it feels as though her right arm is burning around the stitches."

Carlisle nodded and opened his desk drawer, retrieving a small glass vile and a pencil-thin syringe. Bella snorted at Jasper's assessment of the pain she was in and narrowed her eyes on him when he turned his attention back to her. The irritated look she had intended to give him, instead looked as though she were on the verge of sleep. Jasper chuckled though as he felt her irritation and sent her soothing feelings of warmth, with a touch of his amusement mixed in. Opening himself up to the others in the room, he used his talent to allow her to feel all of the love and concern that everyone in the room felt for her.

Carlisle's cool touch on her braced arm drew her attention and she whispered her thanks to him. He smiled down at her, his concern showing in his eyes as he gave her an injection of morphine. Jasper could feel Esme and Alice when they exited the car and added their love and concern of Bella to those he was already projecting to her.

"Bella?" Esme's voice sounded from the doorway as she ghosted to her husband's side and reached out to touch Bella's face.

Alice was by Jasper's side in the next instant, one hand reaching out to touch her best friend cradled in Emmett's arms. Alarmed when a tear escaped Bella's eye, Alice turned to her love for an explanation. Instead of speaking, Jasper used his talent like a repeater and projected the overwhelming love and gratitude that she felt for his family to everyone in the room. Warm smiles were soon decorating everyone's faces as Emmett hugged her as close as he dared.

"We all love you, too, little one," Emmett whispered to Bella.

Edward's lips lifted in a half-smile when he heard Rosalie's irritated thoughts and Jacob's taunting growls coming from outside. He was hard pressed not to laugh aloud when he heard the swat Jacob landed on the blonde vampire's backside with his thick tail. His brow furrowed in thought as he continued listening to the two and heard the click of Jacob's claws on the floor as he entered the house – ahead of Rosalie.

"Dammit, mutt," Rosalie growled at the horse-sized beast.

_'C'mon, Blondie, you think you're so tough,_ Jacob chuckled in his mind. _'Try this on for size!'_

Edward was about to warn Jacob against the action he was about to take, but thought better of it. Not a half second later they all heard Rosalie's irritated shriek, Jacob's breathy woof of laughter and the 'thump' as Rosalie landed a punch to his shoulder.

"Damn dog _licked_ me!" Rosalie shrieked in disgust as she disappeared up the stairs to the bathroom.

"You don't exactly taste like peaches yourself there, Princess!" Jacob shouted after her, laughing as he quickly donned his sweatpants before following Bella's scent and entering Carlisle's office.

"Over here, Jacob," Carlisle directed the teen at the sight of his confused frown.

He looked through the circle of vampires until he found Bella cradled within the center and walked toward her.

"Did you really lick Rosalie?" Bella asked, her voice tired but heavy with undisguised amusement as she curled herself against Emmett's shoulder.

"With extra slobber," the werewolf winked at her. His expression sobered quickly though, concern etching his face into a worried frown.

"I'm all right, Jake," Bella promised, blinking slowly as she struggled to keep her eyes open. The morphine was finally taking its toll on her exhausted body.

"Go to sleep, Bells," Jacob told her, resting a fever-warm palm against her cheek. "Doc?" he turned anxiously to Carlisle. "She doesn't feel that much cooler than I do."

Carlisle moved closer, touching his hand to her cheek and brow and listening closely to the sounds of her heartbeat and breathing.

"Put her in the car, Emmett," Carlisle instructed as he moved to get his medical bag and returned before Jacob had registered his absence. "We're taking her into the hospital, Jacob," Carlisle said as Emmett moved away. "You're welcome to come."

Jacob nodded, not knowing whether it was a good idea for him to go or not. It had only been within the past two hours that morning that he had felt calm enough to phase back to his human form and hold it for any length of time. What if he got upset and phased inside the hospital? The cat would then be very literally out of the proverbial bag. And if he did phase inside the hospital – what if he hurt someone? What if he hurt Bella?

"Jasper can calm you enough to prevent that from happening," Edward said in answer to Jacob's thoughts. "And I've seen the control you have. You would make it outside of the hospital and away from people before that happened."

Jacob looked at Edward silently for a long moment. Even his thoughts were still. _I want to go with you all – go with Bella. But, Charlie still doesn't know what happened._ _Do I leave Bella and go to him?_

"With the mind link, shouldn't your pack already know?" Edward asked as he walked out the front door behind the wolf, locking the house behind him.

"I haven't heard any of their minds lately. I don't think any of them have phased in the past week, they've all been so tired."

Edward nodded at Jacob's assessment and offered him a ride in his Volvo to the hospital. Kindly refusing the offer, Jacob disappeared into the edges of the trees and phased into his wolf form. _I need to burn off as much of the energy and emotion as I can before I go into a hospital filled with people. _Jacob spoke to Edward through his thoughts as he stepped out of the trees, his tail swishing idly behind him with each step. Sniffing at Esme, he moved closer to her, slowly so as not to startle anyone. _She's so sad._

"She's worried," Edward answered, watching as Esme looked at the wolf coming closer to her. "We need to go, Bella's fever is getting worse," he said, nodding at Emmett, already sitting in the back seat of the Mercedes, Bella cradled in his lap.

Within a blurred collection of seconds, all of the Cullen family was tucked away in three cars: the Jeep, the Mercedes, and Edward's Volvo, the scent of hot rubber the only thing left behind the speeding cars as they disappeared around the road's bend.

The too-strong scent of antiseptics and cleaning agents stung her nose and burned her already dry throat. It was so cold; and not the comforting coolness that she'd grown use to from being around her adopted vampire family. No, this cold felt almost malicious. It was the kind of aching cold that told her she wasn't where she belonged – that wherever she was, she was alone.

Brown eyes snapped open and Bella whimpered at the brightness of the sterile room. The inescapable fluorescent lights and pristine white walls that reflected the light had her wincing, groaning with the pain of the instant migraine that the overwhelming brightness caused. She called out for Emmett, the last person she could remember holding her…Nothing. She called out for Edward, then Carlisle and Esme. But again, no one answered her.

Choking back a frightened sob, her emotions so raw they left her feeling torn open and exposed, she opened her eyes once more. Blinking rapidly against the harsh light as she waited for her eyes to adjust, Bella clenched her jaw against the pain in her left hand. It caused her so much pain to focus what little control she had over her braced hand and pull out the IV needle from the back of her right hand. She didn't know why she was in that room, or why she had been left alone. The fear alone had her fighting back nausea that set her stomach rolling.

_Where am I?_ She looked around the room frantically. Why weren't any of the Cullens with her? Where was Edward? Had someone separated them? Taken her away from them?

Bella shook, trembled as she stood up slowly on unsteady feet. The only thought in her mind at that moment was the desperate need to get out of that room, to find her family, to find Edward. Holding on to the hospital bed for support, she took two shuffling steps forward and was falling to the floor before she had time to catch herself. Her fall was stopped by two slim, strong, and stone-like arms surrounding her – catching her. Whimpering, Bella clung to Alice as the lights in the room were swiftly turned down to their dimmest setting and she looked up to see Jasper standing inside the open door.

Alice lifted Bella easily in her arms and laid her down on the hospital bed. Sweeping the discarded IV needle off the bed, Alice hastily snipped the clamp shut so that no more of the cold saline that had been used to cool Bella's raging temperature spilled. Moving to lay behind Bella on the bed, Alice settled against her back easily. The bed was stiff, uncomfortable, and the linens felt as though they were made from paper, but Alice's embrace eased her discomfort.

"You need to stay in bed, Bella," Alice told her, the pixie-vampire's wind chime voice admonishing. "It's a wonder that you slept through all the X-rays that Carlisle took, not to mention the blood he drew."

"Alice," Jasper cautioned his love as he stepped closer.

Sitting beside Bella's shoulder on the bed with his back against a pillow, Jasper encouraged her to lay her head in his lap and began brushing his fingers through her tangled hair. Bella released a comforted sigh as she lay with her cheek on Jasper's thigh, her head tucked against his abdomen. The feel of his fingers in her hair was comforting, hypnotic and had her fending off the sleep that beckoned her. Soothing ribbons of calm began twining around her as Edward entered the room and moved to join them on the bed, sitting beside Bella's hip, resting his hand on her shoulder.

Although Bella didn't know exactly what was going on, she could tell that they were trying to protect her from something Alice's arms wrapped carefully around her waist from behind and Bella could feel her body aligned against her own.

"Carlisle will come in here with Esme in three minutes," Alice told Bella, her voice soft as she employed the pillow. "We love you, Bella."

Confused by Alice's words, Bella tried to look back at her, but Jasper's constant stroking of her hair prevented the movement.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Bella asked, frightened as she looked up at Edward.

"Nothing's wrong with you," Edward assured her, his face tense. "Aside from your injuries, of course."

A soft knock sounded at the door of the hospital room and Edward's soft voice beckoned Carlisle inside. Bella watched as Carlisle, followed closely by Esme, walked into the room and closed the door behind them. Bella's brow furrowed. Where were Emmett, Rosalie and Jacob? And why did Carlisle and Esme look so sad and worried?

Carlisle stood back, watching his wife as she moved to stand behind Jasper. He watched while she let her hand fall down over Jasper's shoulder, her fingers gently curved as she rested the back of her hand softly against the curve of Bella's throat. Pulling in a deep breath, Carlisle moved a chair by the wall closer to the bed and sat down slowly.

"Carlisle?" Bella's voice was hesitant, worried as she took the hand he offered her, curling it closer to her chest.

Bella curled her body more around Edward and Jasper, ignoring the pain it caused while seeking the reassurance of their touch, even as Jasper influenced her emotions and calmed her fear. Relaxing back against Alice as her friend pressed closer, Bella waited for Carlisle to speak, her eyes never leaving his face.

"Bella," Carlisle began slowly, choosing his words carefully. "There's something I need to tell you…It's about Charlie."

Bella froze, her mind running through a hundred possibilities of what that statement could mean in only a three second pause. She clung to Carlisle's hand, her eyes wide in her pale face. Her heart beat madly in her chest and even though she could feel Jasper's calming influence – could feel him trying to chase away her fear – she wondered if it was really doing any good.

"Charlie?" she whispered her father's name, a coldness settling in her chest as tears pricked her eyes. "What happened to Charlie?"


	3. Chapter 3

-Bette Noir

*~*Chapter 3*~*

"Bella," Carlisle began slowly, choosing his words carefully. "There's something I need to tell you…It's about Charlie."

Bella froze, her mind running through a hundred possibilities of what that statement could mean in only a three second pause. She clung to Carlisle's hand, her eyes wide in her pale face. Her heart beat madly in her chest and even though she could feel Jasper's calming influence – could feel him trying to chase away her fear – she wondered if it was really doing any good.

"Charlie?" she whispered her father's name, a coldness settling in her chest as tears pricked her eyes. "What happened to Charlie?"

_Charlie drove carefully down the winding back roads that led from the Quileute reservation to the main highway turnoff. The pale yellow light of the cruiser's headlights guided his way through the darkness as he strained his eyes to see beyond the limited horizon of the high-beams. It was a long drive to get to his and Billy's favorite fishing hole and Charlie was beginning to regret his early morning, but the time spent with Bella before he had left for Billy's house had been worth it._

_ The corners of his lips turned up at the thought of spending the next five days on their secret lake. Fed by the rich waters of the Pacific Ocean, the small run-off lake – though only three acres wide and twenty feet deep at its very center, was always brimming with large trout and monstrous salmon. The hidden lake was in an area so remote that he had to pass through the edges of three small towns to get near the unnamed forest it was housed in, and still had to drive over an hour into no man's land. _

_ The constant, low rhythm of Billy's snoring sounded much akin to an old dog growling and the police chief chuckled at his sleeping friend. He envied the old Indian the sleep he was getting, knowing that Billy would demand they unhook the boat and be out on the lake before the tent had even been taken out of the car. They both knew that to get the best fish you had to drop your line and bait just before dawn broke. To be able to do that, Charlie had to start out from Billy's house well before sunset and drive all night to get there. _

_ He shook his head and dropped one hand to the FM radio control, turning it on and spinning the dial as he flipped through the stations. He blinked hard at the road ahead of him. An early morning with Bella before he had left for Billy's house, and then two days of baseball and bait gathering with Billy before they had left the man's house not two hours prior, made him realize that he was no longer as young as he liked to think he was. The sleepless nights and busy days were catching up to him with a vengeance as the sound of the tires against the road's surface and the wind tunneling around the sides of the car sang to him the driver's lullaby. It was only eight PM Charlie noticed as he took the east-bound highway exit onto the 101. It would be three AM before he came to the outskirts of the forest their lake was nestled in and he forgot to bring coffee. _

"No one is entirely certain about exactly what happened," Carlisle said, knowing that there was no easy way to tell Bella the news. "Apparently the fishing hole favored by Charlie and Billy is on Bainbridge Island, near Puget Sound. It's in a fairly unknown area just sixty miles inside of the most inland part of Eagle Harbor. Even most forest rangers won't go in there – no one ever goes into that part of the forest and it's heavily populated with bears and wolves."

Bella watched Carlisle, confused and alarmed by what she thought to be unnecessary back story. His eyes were tight, the lines creasing his brow and at the edges of his lips made him appear older than his physical twenty-three years. His voice was quiet and cautious when he spoke, the tone of it frightening her, making her fear the worst. _Oh god, how bad was this? What was he holding back? What was Carlisle trying not to tell her? What was it that they were all trying to protect her from? _Bella felt her blood freeze in her veins as fear, so powerful it stole her breath and silenced her mind, took hold and nearly overwhelmed her. _Was Charlie dead too? Had she lost all of her human family now?_

Bella didn't hear the choked, painful whimpers that escaped her lips, her eyes wide and almost wild in her face, pale with fear. She felt Alice tighten her arms around her waist as her anxiety continued to grow. She couldn't understand the soothing words that Alice was speaking softly, so close to her ear. Nor did she know that she had begun to issue forth a constant string of nearly silent, high-pitched whimpers.

Until that moment Jasper had been content to simply sit back and monitor Bella's emotions as he toyed with her hair, letting his actions soothe her instead. When the sudden spike of fear ambushed her emotions – blocking out all others from her – and had him nearly doubled over with the force of its power, he took action. It took all the control and concentration Jasper had to escape the strength of her emotion and use his talent to calm her, soothing her fear down to a background noise. Her brown eyes were soon blinking slowly, heavily, as the rush of the emotional storm left her drained and weak. She could feel Jasper's calming influence over her emotions and was never more thankful for his talent than in that moment. She heard him whisper to her softly, answering the gratitude he could feel coming from her that was directed at him. Comforted as well by the feel of Esme's hand in the curve of her neck, slowly moving back and forth as the woman comforted her with just a touch, Bella wished that she could grasp the woman's hand in her own.

Bella looked to Edward, hoping she would see something in his expression that would tell her just how bad the coming news was. His eyes were sad, his face and posture set in stone – he was so tense – his expression, aside from concern, was completely unreadable. Looking back to Carlisle, she waited for him to continue, the man having paused in his tale while her attention was diverted. She wanted to scream at him, to shake him, and demand that he simply spit out whatever it was. Instead, she gripped his hand tighter, the smooth cold skin soft against her own, and his unbreakable skin like marble in her palm.

Jasper continued his methodical stroking of her hair as he monitored Bella's emotions. Carlisle had explained to the four of them what had happened when he had sent Rose and Emmett, Jacob trailing behind, to track down Charlie. Jasper knew that as bad and as tormenting as the events of the day before had been for Bella – the girl just barely maintaining control of her emotions – that it was going to get exponentially worse. He knew that once she was informed – fully informed – there were two possible outcomes that Alice had seen: Bella could become emotionally catatonic…or she could have a complete breakdown. Alice hadn't been able to see the future clearly enough to give a more accurate estimation then that, but neither options were favorable.

Carlisle waited until her attention was completely focused on him again before continuing. Lifting the hand she held, he stroked her cheek with the back of one finger, brushing away a tear. A sad grimace twisted his lips as he let the human girl tuck his hand once more to her chest, her brown eyes meeting his as she waited for him to continue.

"I sent Rosalie and Emmett down to the police station to let them know that you were alright and in my family's care. When the crash scene was investigated and your truck was found but you were not," Carlisle explained in response to Bella's furrowed brow, "a search began. The officers were afraid that you may have wandered into the surrounding forest. Jacob followed after them; he's been too agitated to be still for very long…They only got the chance to tell Deputy Carrolson that you were safe before they were ushered into a private room and told about Charlie."

_Charlie could feel himself growing more tired by the moment as the dangerous phenomenon known as "highway hypnosis" began to set in. Breathing a sigh of relief when he caught sight of the lighted sign of a near-by twenty-four hour convenience store/gas station, he took the next exit off the highway and held his eyes open wide as he followed the signs. He yawned so hard that tears stung his eyes and he beat the heel of his hand against the steering wheel, trying to stay awake as he pulled into the parking lot of the convenience store._

_ Cutting the engine, Charlie stared through the large glass windows, covered in advertisements for various soft drinks and quick-serve combo meals. Blinking twice, he was instantly alert with the realization that something felt _wrong_. Shaking Billy's shoulder to wake his friend, Chief Swan reached into his glove compartment and retrieved his back-up weapon: a .32 caliber snub-nosed revolver. _

_ "Stay out here," Charlie ordered his groggy friend as he checked the revolver's drum to make certain it was loaded. "If I don't come out in five minutes – hit the red button on the radio controls," he said indicating the red button with the black star in the center. "It's an emergency GPS bulletin. Any unit within a hundred mile radius will see our location lit up like a Christmas tree."_

_ Five rounds, Charlie assessed as he jerked the gun to the side and snapped the drum back into place. Looking up, his dark brows furrowed as he watched the clerk behind the counter take the bag that was thrown at her. Two black-clad, hooded figures stood waiting as the girl, who didn't look to be any older than Bella, emptied the contents of the cash register into the burlap sack._

_ Turning on the cruiser's radio, Charlie took up the handset and reported the robbery in progress along with his location before exiting the vehicle. Staying crouched low, Charlie kept his car door from closing to avoid making any noise that might alert the assailants inside. _

"Charlie called in the robbery, but he knew that no uniformed officer would get there in time to do anything. He also knew that it was very likely the men would kill the clerk," Carlisle told Bella, watching helplessly as tears rolled down over the bridge of her nose to pool beneath her right temple that lay on Jasper's denim-clad thigh. "Charlie didn't have any identifying clothing on him, and according to the report Deputy Carrolson received, he had left his credentials in the cruiser."

_Charlie slipped quietly into the convenience store, making certain not to jostle the bell hanging on the inside handle. The assailants had yet to see him, and putting a finger to his lips, he motioned for the girl to get down on the floor…If only she hadn't nodded._

_ The figure closest to him turned quickly, brandishing a sawed-off shot gun. Charlie took him down with a single round. His partner was quicker on the draw, however, and fired two rounds from his .9mm Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol. The first shot his Charlie in the upper left shoulder, a through and through, just below his clavicle. The second round hit not a second later, ripping through his right pectoral muscle, burning like fire. As Charlie fell to the floor, he took the man down with a single, straight shot to the man's heart. The floor beneath him was cold and he could hear the young woman crying hysterically as she came around the counter, her face blurring as he tried to remained focused on her. _

_ The girl held the store's cordless phone between her right shoulder and ear, talking to the 9-1-1 operator as she pressed her balled up apron into Charlie's wounds. _How could it be possible that all of that had happened in just under a minute_? she wondered, sniffling back tears as she fought to remain calm. Her hands were already covered in Charlie's blood and she could hear a man's voice calling from outside. _

_ "They want to know your name," she cried, tears pouring down her face as she applied more pressure to his wounds. _

_ "Charles Swan," Charlie coughed as he fought against the growing darkness surrounding the edges of his vision, he knew that falling asleep was dangerous when one had been shot, "Police Chief of Forks, Washington. Badge number…9-1-6-5-3."_

"Charlie was air-lifted to Seattle and taken to Steven's Memorial Hospital just after two AM this morning," Carlisle said, lifting his free hand to wipe away Bella's tears. "Last we heard he was still in surgery. There was quite a bit of damage done, but the doctor's are hopeful. Emmett, Rose and Jacob are on their way to Seattle now. They'll stay with him until he can be transferred to the hospital here."

"Can we go?" Bella asked as the same strange calm she had felt moments after finding her mother began to settle over her again. She could feel herself shaking, could feel as the trembling took over her whole body and she grasped onto Edward's hand with her braced hand as tightly as she could, fiery pain lancing up her arm as her injuries protested the movement.

"No, I'm sorry," Carlisle said, his voice strained. "You've been injured too severely for me to be comfortable moving you that far. You've been fortunate so far, in that you don't need surgery to set your wrist. However, I do need to put a plaster cast on that," he nodded to her braced hand that was weakly gripping Edward's hand. "I know that you can still feel and move your fingers, but it would be best if you didn't. Too much movement can aggravate the injury and complicate the fracture."

Bella blinked slowly, the room around her beginning to blur as it spun wildly out of control. Up until that moment she had been able to feel her emotions for what they were – sort them out and keep some semblance of order over them. That concentrated task was impossible now, though, as they seemed to take on a life of their own, causing her world to tilt precariously on its splintering axis.

Edward reacted quickly to the vertigo and turmoil he read coming from Bella through Jasper's mind. Moments before, he had been wondering when his love would reach her breaking point. The news of her father's injury in the line of duty seemed far beyond what she was capable of dealing with, both mentally and emotionally. Sitting Bella up, with Alice and Jasper's guiding hands on her back and shoulders, Edward directed her to put her head between her knees and breathe deeply as he whispered to her words of love and encouragement.

"She's having a panic attack," Jasper told Carlisle and Esme, his voice too quick and low for Bella to make out the words. "Her emotions are too jumbled and strong," he said, straining as he tried to fight the power they had over him. "It's beyond my ability to help her."

Carlisle nodded and watched his children, Bella included, as the human girl tried to gain control of her emotions. Esme came around to stand in front of Bella and took the younger girl into her arms, holding her tightly, but with the utmost care for her injuries as Bella sobbed into her shoulder. The girl was shaking so fiercely Esme thought she would rip apart if she wasn't holding her.

"Get the trash can," Alice instructed quickly as she gathered Bella's hair in her hands and held it back.

Carlisle was suddenly in place of Esme in front of her, the round metal can in his hands, holding it beneath Bella, seconds before the girl vomited into it. Her tears increased as the bile rose in her throat once more and the headache she'd been largely ignoring began to feel as though someone were pouring acid inside her brain.

"Hush, Sweetheart," she heard Carlisle's comforting voice through the haze of her sobs and the ringing in her ears. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Bella didn't even realize she'd been saying anything. She could hear Alice's trilling soprano in the background, but couldn't make out any words as the encroaching darkness suddenly overwhelmed her. Jasper and Edward caught her on either side as she passed out from the violent emotional reaction. Jasper was tense, his movements stiff as he fought against the punishing onslaught of Bella's unconscious emotional tirade.

"Go," Edward told Jasper. "Get out of here for a few moments. You know how upset Bella would be if she knew she was hurting you like this."

Jasper nodded silently, slipping out of the room without a sound. Alice looked after her husband in concern. Bella was hurting so badly, and Jasper – while trying to help Bella deal with the pain – was hurting himself just as terribly. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but the future was too blurred by unknown variables for her to get a clear picture. Sighing, she helped lay Bella back on the pillows while Carlisle and Esme cleaned her face.

"Put the cast on her while she's unconscious," Alice told Carlisle. "She won't be able to hold still enough while awake for you to do it."

The blond vampire nodded solemnly as he brushed Bella's hair back from her face. He closed his eyes, feeling his shoulders shake with silent, tearless sobs and soon felt his wife's arms surrounding him.

There was no sound to the growl he could feel rumbling deep within his chest. The off-white walls and dusty rose, stuffed couches and armchairs doing nothing to calm the irritation he felt. Even the sound of the soft background jazz made him more tense with each note that played – each step he took – as he paced back and forth across the surgical waiting room. Every two minutes his eyes would come to rest on the large sliding door that led to the OR suites beyond where visiting family and non-patients were not allowed. He wanted to burst through the automatic door, locked by a keycard-digital keypad lock, and demand that someone give him some kind of answer.

Stopping and bringing his hands to his face, Emmett rubbed his large palms over his cheeks and forehead, scrubbing the skin there before combing the fingers of one hand through his dark curls. He hated this…this waiting. It left him feeling helpless, and he hated to feel helpless. Emmett knew his limitations, knew that he may not be as smart as some of the others in his family, but he was a man of action. He was at his best when he could be fighting something, doing _anything_, comforting someone. Once again he felt his silent cell phone burn a hole in his jeans pocket. He wanted to call Edward, to hear Bella's voice, and know that his little sister was alright.

"You know, glaring at the door won't make the doctors come through it any faster," Rosalie said beneath her breath from where she sat across the room idly flipping through a three-month old copy of Vogue magazine.

Emmett stopped cold, his entire body turning rigid, statuesque, as the silent growl sounded just loud enough for her to hear. Her huff of near-silent laughter made the irritation he felt burn viciously through his body, his muscles tingling as they tensed and relaxed so quickly and repeatedly it left him almost dizzy. He ignored his cell phone as it beeped in his pocket, signaling the incoming text message. _How could Rosalie be so cold? _It made no sense to him. Bella was their sister, didn't she understand that?

He wanted to cross the room, to shake his wife and yell at her for her callousness. Even if his emotions meant nothing to her at the moment, the worry and pain Bella was going through, so far away from them should mean something – _anything_. There weren't here for fun or because Carlisle had requested – even though he had – they were here because of Charlie. He was Bella's father, he had been shot, and it was quite possible that he could die on that surgical table. Bella had lost so much – gone through so much – already, couldn't Rose see that to lose Charlie had the power to break Bella completely?

"Mister?"

Emmett took in a calming breath at the sound of the child's voice behind him. He'd almost forgotten about the woman and child they shared the waiting area with – the only other occupants of the room. Blinking away the irritation, he turned and looked down at the child. She couldn't have been much more than five or six. Her raven's wing black hair shone with dark cherry undertones in the soft light of the end table lamps. Her snow white face and large ice-blue eyes gave her the appearance of a living China doll. He found her watching him, her eyes wide in her pale face as she stared up at him with trepidation.

The little girl watched as Emmett knelt down slowly in front of her, the massive man somehow folding his body so that he was able to look directly into her eyes. As large as the man was, the child wasn't afraid of him – he made her feel safe, just like her father always had. Raising one large hand to her face, Emmett tucked a lock of dark hair behind her perfectly rounded ear. His cool touch brought a soft smile to the child's face, though her worry didn't abate.

"Hey there, sweetheart," Emmett greeted the child, his deep voice soft and gentle. "What can I do for you?"

Emmett watched as the child's brows furrowed, the anxiety in her eyes morphing into concern. He could hear her heart beating so fast, his enhanced vision catching the minute trembling she was trying to suppress. Taking in a deep breath, the child looked behind her to where her mother sat against the far wall across the room. Emmett's eyes followed the child's gaze. The woman looked to be at least six months pregnant and a perfectly aged progression of the child standing before him. As he focused on the woman he could hear a difference in her heartbeat and breathing, though he didn't know as much about medicine as the other members of his family, he enough to know that something wasn't quite right.

"Something's wrong with my mommy," the little girl said, drawing his attention back to her face. Her voice trembled and Emmett had to resist the urge to pull the child against his chest, wanting to protect and comfort the girl. "She said the baby was kicking a lot and then she just…fell asleep," she said, her shoulders shrugging. She didn't know how else to explain what had happened.

"Let's go check on her, shall we?" Emmett smiled comfortingly at the child as he held his hand out to her, the warmth of her hand wrapping around two of his fingers. "What's your name, little one?" he asked as they walked toward her mother and he crouched down in front of her rounded stomach.

"Bella," the child said, surprising Emmett. "Well, it's really Bellaniece, but everyone calls me Bella."

The insane urge to wrap the child up in his arms took hold of Emmett once more and he settled for brushing his hand gently over her silken hair. Telling the child to sit in the chair next to her mother, Emmett pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. Hitting the number two on his speed dial, he tucked the device between his ear and shoulder, waiting to hear Esme's voice and explaining the situation – his words too low for the child to hear – before passing the device to Bella.

"It's all right, sweetheart," Emmett said as he waited for her to take his phone. "Why don't you talk to my mother while I make sure your mama is okay?"

Bella took the device and held to her small ear, her hair falling over her shoulder to hide the silver phone beneath a curtain of midnight cherry as she spoke into the phone. Emmett could feel Rose's irritated stare as she watched them from across the room. She had been disinterested, to say the least, when Carlisle had asked her and Emmett to come to Seattle and watch over Charlie. The task to her seemed tedious and unnecessary. So what if the man died? Humans died all the time, for a hundred different reasons. Bella wanted so badly to be one of them, she may as well get used to it now.

Rosalie didn't understand how everyone, especially her husband, could be so taken by one human girl. She was nothing. Nothing! It was her opinion that Edward should have just killed Bella when her blood first sang to him; it would've saved all of them so much trouble. Now here they were, sitting in this hospital, waiting for word on whether or not a human would live. She wasn't jealous of Bella as Alice had accused her of being. What did that little human have that she could possibly be jealous of? And for Bella to willing chose eternal life over her human existence – an existence where she could have children, true babies born of her very blood…Rosalie shook her head and stood. Enough was enough and she was tired of waiting here, pretending to care about a man she didn't know, who was a father to a girl that she really didn't know if she wanted as a sister.

Emmett signed soundlessly when he felt Rosalie leave the waiting room. He didn't know where she was going and at that point he wasn't too sure that he cared. He knew what bothered the blonde, even if she was unwilling to admit it herself. She was jealous – jealous that, although Bella held none of Rosalie's perfect beauty, she had been able to enchant every single member of their family without even trying. Rosalie had always been the center of attention and that was how she liked it, but with Bella – his little sister shined like a lighthouse in the darkness. Bella didn't care who or what you were, she wore her heart on her sleeve and cared strongly about those she loved. In doing so, Bella had endeared herself to every member of their family. Rosalie had never had that kind of silent power, and it irked her to no end.

Turning his attention back to he woman before him, Emmett rested his hands on her stomach, feeling for any kind of movement from the child within. Although he could hear the rapid beating of the unborn child's heart, it didn't sound quite as fast as he was used to hearing from other pregnant mothers he'd been around. The mother's heart as well seemed almost sluggish, her breathing shallow.

"Bella, sweetie," Emmett said, gaining the child's attention, "I need to talk to my father."

"Misses Esme, he wants to talk to his daddy," Bella spoke into the phone before handing the device to Emmett.

He smiled at her as he took the phone, tucking her hair behind her ear again and letting the child take his hand and play with his fingers. He spoke quickly and softly to Carlisle, explaining the situation and his observations. The patriarch of their family kept throwing around words such as toxemia and gestational diabetes. Carlisle came to a halt in his spoken examination of Emmett's observations and his own thoughts on what the presenting characteristics could be describing. Taking a deep breath, he asked Emmett what the woman smelled like – if there was any one scent that stood out from the others.

"It's hard to pinpoint exactly," Emmett said. "It's like…honey-coated citrus."

"Get a doctor now, Emmett," Carlisle commanded. "Tell them that she has toxemia and can't be woken. They'll take it from there. Keep the child with you…Don't let her worry too much."

"I'll take care of Bella." At Carlisle's pause Emmett chuckled. "Guess you didn't know that was her name, huh?"

"Take care of them, Emmett. Let us know any news on Charlie."

"Will do." Emmett closed the phone, ending the call, and tucked the device back in his pocket. "Stay here, Bella, I'll be right back."

Moving quickly down the hall to the nearest nurse's station, he told them that the woman he was with had been diagnosed with preeclampsia earlier that week and now couldn't be woken. He watched as the blonde woman wearing a long white lab coat and reviewing a chart looked up sharply at him. Setting the metal folder down, she came around the desk, commanding the nurses to obtain a gurney.

"Where is this woman?" the doctor asked Emmett, her voice a soft, urgent alto.

"With her daughter in the surgical waiting room," he answered, leading the woman back to the room, her stethoscope tapping against her shoulders as she jogged beside Emmett. "We thought she was just tired, but when she couldn't be woken, and the baby stopped kicking, I got worried."

The doctor nodded and asked Emmett if there was any other information he could provide, nodding when he told her that was all he could tell her. Emmett stilled, his hand gripping the door frame when the scent of the woman's blood, though minimal, assaulted him.

"She's bleeding," he choked out, "I forgot to tell you that."

Not looking back at the man beside her, the doctor ran for the woman, pressing a hand to her forehead before donning her stethoscope and listening to what she could of the child's heartbeat. Bella ran to his side, frightened by the activity and the medical personnel that soon surrounded her mother. Crystalline tears shone in her eyes as Emmett lifted her in his arms and tucked her against his chest, the child burying her face in his shoulder. He watched, his body tense, while two orderlies gently lifted the woman onto a gurney, standing aside as nurses wheeled her through the OR doors to the closest medical room available. Rocking Bella in his arms, her little legs wrapped around his hips, he rubbed her back and assured her that everything would be all right.

Walking through the waiting room to sit on a long stuffed couch with her, he petted her hair and asked who she and her mother had been waiting for.

"My dad," she said softly, and he could tell by the sound of her voice that she was growing tired. "Mommy said that he isn't as young as he likes to think he is and that he got hurt doing something stupid."

Emmett chuckled at that, hugging the child closer as she yawned against his neck. Encouraging her to rest, he closed his eyes. Vampires didn't sleep, they had no need for it, but if they closed their eyes and allowed the stillness to overtake them, they could appear to be sleeping. Doing so allowed Emmett the time he needed to sort of his own thoughts and decide just how he would take care of this little Bella if things didn't turn out as well as he had told the child they would.

He could feel his breath hissing in through his teeth, cold and angry only to roll, turning into a deep snarl as it came to the back of his throat. Jacob tried to calm himself down; knowing that the rage he felt was by no means rational. The build up of emotions that had occurred, from the moment he had found Bella's truck, to just a few minutes prior when the doctor had told him that his father was going to be kept over night for observation had the wolf within him clawing desperately to be released.

He stood outside the hospital, inches away from the surrounding tree cover, looking up at the second story window that he knew to belong to his father's room. Billy had never told him about the secret lake so near the ocean – so far away from home – and it angered Jacob even more to know that he had never once asked his father, either. How many times had he been glad that his father would be gone for that one week time, simply so that he could selfishly have the small house to himself? When he had followed Emmett and Rosalie to the Forks Police Station, hearing that both he and Bella's fathers were in a hospital in Seattle was not something he had been prepared for.

Jacob clenched his fists at his sides, his arms trembling. He had nearly phased inside that small interrogation room, and surprise among surprises, it was Rosalie that had brought him back to his senses. The teen snorted as he thought of just how Rosalie had done that, his thigh _still_ ached from where she had punched him unseen under the table. Looking up at the cloud-covered sun, Jacob was alarmed to note that he could feel tears escaping from the corners of his eyes. He could remember the last time he had cried – his mother's funeral.

The anger left him then and Jacob felt the earth rush up to meet him as his legs gave out beneath him. He realized then that he hadn't slept in five days. The night he had found Bella's truck he had been trying to run off all of the extra energy so that he could sleep, but then…Jacob sighed, leaning back against the thick oak behind him and feeling his body beginning to tremble with something other than anger. Drawing his knees up to his chest, he rested his forehead on them and curled his arms over his head in an effort to block out the world around him.

He didn't realize that he was crying, didn't hear the sound of sobs issuing forth from his dry and aching throat until he felt a strong pair of cold arms wrap around his shoulders and torso to hold him close. The sickening sweet scent burned his nose and throat, but instead of pulling away, Jacob turned into the embrace and wrapped his arms around the vampire holding him. He thought he recognized the distinct scent as belonging to Esme, but with his senses so clogged up by his emotions, he couldn't be certain.

"Shh," Esme whispered to him, her brow furrowed in worry. The sound of his sobs and the scent of his tears had had her running for the sparse forest that surrounded the hospital before Alice had even parked the car. "Oh, Jacob honey, shh. It'll all be all right," she assured him, stroking his short black hair as he wrapped his arms tighter around her waist.

Instead of his tears calming as he wished for them to, Jacob felt the severity of the mixed fear and grief he felt become overwhelming. Soon his entire body was shaking uncontrollably with the hoarse, angry sobs that clawed at his heart and constricted his throat and lungs. He wanted the anger back. The anger was so much easier to deal with, easier to control than this – this…_pain._ When he opened his eyes, Jacob found that Esme was sitting on the ground and had somehow pulled him into her lap. As absurd as he thought it might look, he couldn't bring himself to move out of her embrace. The sobs just wouldn't stop, and the tears refused to be dried. It hurt. _He hurt._ Everything just damn well _hurt._

Esme rocked him back and forth, nodding her head once at the hospital and instructing Alice to go inside. Without being able to see Esme's future for Jacob, Alice had stayed near them, standing on the sidewalk, not knowing what the right move was. Esme watched as Alice turned and reluctantly disappeared inside the hospital. She knew her daughter wished to stay, not knowing if she would be safe alone with such a distraught and young werewolf in her arms, but Esme wasn't worried, knowing that Jacob would never intentionally bring her harm.

She could feel Jacob calming, his sobs quieting as he grew lethargic in her arms and rested heavily against her chest. When she looked down on the young man that she held in her arms, she noticed for the first time the deep, dark circles beneath his eyes, nearly hidden by the bronze of his skin tone. Running her fingers through his hair and rocking him gently, slowly, Esme spoke to him softly.

"Jacob, how long has it been since you've slept?"

"…Five, maybe six days," he answered, his voice painfully quiet and bone weary.

Esme released a soft sigh, tucking the boy closer to her shoulder. "Would you like to rest out here in the forest, or back at the hotel that Alice and I secured?" she asked, feeling his tired arms losing their fierce grip from around her slim waist as he grew closer to sleep.

He was quiet for a long moment, the hazy cloud of sleep dragging his conscious mind down into a deep fog and making it difficult for him to think clearly. "Out here," he finally rasped, moving slowly out of Esme's arms only to curl up beside her in the leaves and grass, his head tucked into his folded arms. "They might release Billy early, if they think he's stable enough."

"I thought he hadn't been hurt?" Esme questioned, combing her fingers through his hair in a motherly fashion.

"He heard the gunshots…threw himself out of the car and tried to drag himself to the store…Doctor said he gave himself a concussion and twisted his back. Stupid old fool."

Esme smiled gently at his ending words, Jacob having fallen asleep next to her. "You rest; I'll come check on you in a little while."

Esme rose slowly from the cool, damp earth beneath her, brushing leaves off the back of her mahogany cotton skirt. Jacob may be a werewolf, and yes, his scent may be rather…unpleasant to her delicate senses, but in a way he was part of their family. His relationship, first with Bella, and then the tentative one formed with Emmett and Jasper had secured a place for him in her heart. He was almost a son to her – albeit a rather foul-smelling son – but a son nonetheless. Looking back on him once more, Esme wished him pleasant dreams before disappearing into the hospital as the sky began to lighten above her head with the coming dawn.


	4. Chapter 4

Bette Noir

*~*Chapter 4*~*

The sky was a dreary, overcast of grey clouds and muted blues. Droplets of rain tapped lightly on the windshield. The wet rubber of the motor-driven wipers were squeaking and thumping loudly to his preternatural senses as they moved back and forth across the Plexiglas. The pattern of the noises was steady, their rhythm unchanging and it drove him to near insanity. He shook his head, half-rolling his eyes. He often heard his human colleagues complain about thinking too much or having too many thoughts in their heads that they found it dizzying. The snort that slipped out from him unchecked was paired with an almost-sneer. _They should try having the mental capacity and ability to multi-focus as only vampires could. It really would make their heads spin._

Carlisle tightened his grip on the steering wheel of the Mercedes as he drove through the winding tree-lined roads. Slowing down, he turned onto the quiet lane that led up to his house, hidden amongst the trees. The slow, steady beat of her heart and breathing drew his attention and he looked at the girl sleeping next to him in the passenger seat. The robin's egg-blue plaster cast encasing her palm and forearm seemed to mock him as he pulled the car into the house's driveway and turned off the engine.

Lips pursed in concern, Carlisle reached across the space between them and tucked Bella's hair behind her ear. His blond brows furrowed in concern when his cool fingers brushed against her heated skin. Taking in a deep, steadying breath, he let the backs of his fingers linger against her battered and bruised cheek. She was warm again. He had known that the cool saline was only a temporary solution to the raging fever she'd had earlier, but he had hoped that the fever wouldn't return quite so soon.

_Carlisle watched Edward's brow furrow and knew that his son was about to argue with his unvoiced suggestion. Supporting Bella's arm with one hand, he checked to make certain the entirety of the newly applied cast was dry with the other. Lifting Bella easily into his arms, Carlisle carried her out to his car unseen by the hospital staff. Jasper held open the front passenger door of the Mercedes while the good doctor tucked her into the seat and fastened the belt. _

_ "You two should hunt tonight," Carlisle said, holding his hand up to silence Edward's coming objections. "Bella has been through quite a lot in the past seventy-two hours and, while I know that she seems calm now, tonight – I have a feeling – will be incredibly difficult for her. The last thing she needs is for either of you to lose control. Go. Hunt."_

Carlisle opened the passenger door and knelt down beside Bella's seat. This gentle girl, his – for now – human daughter had been through and lost so much in just three short days; the amount of physical and emotional trauma that she had and was still suffering was inconceivable.

He stood slowly, leaning over her inside the car and undid the seatbelt. Bella stirred, but didn't wake when he lifted her and eased her out of the car, cradling her to his chest as he nudged the car door closed with his knee. He carried her up to the front door whispering soothing bits of nonsense to her when she whimpered in her sleep.

"It's all right, Bella," Carlisle spoke softly to her as he unlocked the front door and carried her inside.

It was moments like this that he wished he had Esme's gift for knowing instinctively how to comfort someone. He was sure if he was making the right move or doing the right thing. Bella nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder; drawing him from his thoughts and making him realize that he was standing inside Edward's room.

Taking a seat on the edge of Edward's bed, Carlisle looked down at the girl held cradled in his arms, unable to fully comprehend how everything had happened in such a short time. The bruises and abrasions littering her skin inspired a storm of conflicting emotions within him. The knowledge of the emotional trauma she already had, and would still be, suffering worried him greatly. Whimpering in her sleep, Bella tightened the hand that was fisted in the back of his shirt, and when she sought comfort by nuzzling her face into his chest, he selfishly held her closer.

The all-too vivid memory of cleaning, stitching and bandaging her wounds; the still too-strong scent of her blood, and her increased exhaustion as her body struggled to mend itself, scared the _hell _out of him. Carlisle took in a deep, steadying breath. Yes, he had been alive a very long time. Yes, he had both seen and treated wounds much worse than Bella's, in times when there hadn't been such things as anesthetics or analgesics. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut, before opening them wide, blinking as though he were trying to hold back tears. He looked down at the sleeping, battered girl in his arms. Never once, _not once_, had anyone he had treated – and let remain human – _ever_ meant so very much to him before. Never once had his patient been a member of his own family.

It wasn't only Edward who would be affected if she were to somehow be lost from this world. Bella had so quickly become such a very important and irreplaceable member of his family. And after more than ninety years of being a closed-off, solitary creature, Edward had finally found the other half of his heart. If his son were ever to lose this very delicate, earth-bound angel…He trembled at thought.

Folding his body down over hers, he held her even closer, shielding her from anything he could. He could feel himself trembling as his hold on her tightened unconsciously and he wondered if any one member of his vampire family truly realized just how close they had come to losing Bella. That single thought – the all too real possibility of losing Bella before she had fully joined his family – brought with it the dry, aching, silent sobs that shook his frame and pricked his tightly closed eyes. He was glad that no one – aside from the girl he held – was there to bear witness to his break down.

Carlisle was pulled from the darkness of his thoughts by the feel of small, warm fingers smoothing across the cool skin of his cheek, and the roughness of the plaster cast brushing along his jaw line. Pulling back the tiniest bit, just enough to be able to see her face, Carlisle held his eyes closed as he tried to gather himself together. When his eyes opened, Bella was shocked to find the usual warm; sunshine-gold of his eyes had turned to a dark, burnt-butterscotch that was ringed by black. The feel of his silent grief had worried her, but the evidence of it in his eyes, made her want to shed the tears that would never again fall from his vampire eyes.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile; however the gesture manifested as a pained grimace instead. Bella could feel herself trembling as she released the bit of his shirt that had been twisted tightly in her hand and raised her palm to cup his cheek as she searched his eyes for an answer to his outpouring of grief. Her brow furrowed deeply, her bottom lip held tightly between her teeth as she studied the face – the eyes – of the vampire she had come to view as a second, and very beloved, father. She closed her eyes when he kissed her forehead and then held her close, her head tucked beneath his chin while he stroked her long, dark hair slowly and methodically.

"I'm all right, Sweetheart," he said, unsure who he was trying to convince more – her or himself.

"You were crying," she stated quietly, arguing against his reassurances.

Pulling his lips together in a sad grin, he smiled gently at the feel of her hand rubbing slowly against his back in an effort to soothe him. He resisted the urge to tighten his hold on her when he heard the movement through the forest as Edward and Jasper drew closer to the house, their hunt drawing to a close. He was once again pulled from his thoughts by Bella, though this time it was by the sweetness of her voice.

"You were so upset, Carlisle. You still are, I can tell," Bella said leaning back to look into his eyes. "What happened?"

Holding her with one arm wrapped around her back, he tucked her hair behind one ear and then the other. Drawing in a shuddering breath in an effort to steady himself, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and meeting her gaze as he spoke.

"I treated your wounds, Bella," he told her unnecessarily. "And after everything else that has already happened, it finally hit me how close we came to losing you."

Bella surged forward, closing the infinitesimal distance between them to hold him tightly for a long moment. Though the strength of her embrace caused twinges of pain to ignite beneath her cast, she held onto him as though she were afraid to let go. When finally she did loosen her hold, she readily accepted Carlisle's silent guidance when he moved her to cradle her in the crook of his shoulder. He chose wisely to remain silent, able to feel the words that she had yet to speak and see the seriousness of them in the crease of her brow.

Bella rested in the comforting cradle of Carlisle's arms, her temple against his shoulder as she gathered her thoughts, trying to organize them in a manner that would make sense to someone else. Looking down at her hands, she picked at the edges of her cast until Carlisle's cool hand rested gently on top of her own, stilling her movements. Biting her lips as she searched for the right words to use to speak her thoughts, she looked up at him.

"I need to say this," Bella spoke, the expression on her face deep in thought yet uncertain as she searched for the right words to speak what was on her mind. "I'm going to fumble this a bit and I know it may not make much sense, but I need for you to wait until I'm done before you say anything."

Carlisle nodded and the gentle squeeze of his arm around her encouraging her to continue. "Charlie is my dad, and I can't lose him." Her voice was rough and choked with emotion when she spoke. "I know that someday soon, when I become one of you, I will have to give him up, but I can't lose him like _this_." Her voice cracked, breaking off on a half-sob that she stubbornly swallowed back and she silently thanked Carlisle when he slipped his hand against her palm to hold her tiny hand in his, letting her borrow his strength.

"As much as I love Charlie, you all have become home to me. No matter what happens – no matter how bad things get – as long as I can make it back here, back to this family, I know that everything will be all right." She grew silent, sniffling back her tears and leaning more heavily against him before continuing. "But if I – if I were to somehow lose you all _again,_ I would never survive it. Not even for a moment. You all – every single one of you – you're all a part of me now…There's no other way for me to explain it."

Her voice trailed off and down in the silent living room below, Jasper and Edward looked up at the ceiling above their heads, listening in on the conversation taking place. Moving to sit on the stairs, feeling the intensity of the love of a father for his daughter, and just as strongly, feeling the love of a daughter for her father, Jasper closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He swore he could almost _taste_ their emotions they were so strong. Knowing that neither Carlisle, nor Bella, would appreciate his augmenting their emotions in any way, he simply absorbed all he felt coming from them both while allowing Edward to feel it as well.

Edward remained silent, statuesque, as he sat on the couch, his eyes closed. To anyone else, he would've looked asleep, but his brother knew better. Though Jasper basked in the emotions, it was Carlisle's thoughts that captivated Edward. Where most times his father ran through so many thoughts, possibilities and cause-and-effect calculations in his head, this time there was only thought that kept looping through the older man's mind, surprising Edward with its ferocity: _My daughter! Mine!_

Carlisle felt his eyes pricking and his throat tightening as the emotion robbed him of his ability to speak. Careful of her injuries, he tightened his hold, cradling Bella to his chest while he gently stroked her hair.

"Don't _ever_ think we don't feel the same way about you, Bella." Carlisle's voice was low, choked and somehow restrained.

He wanted to say more, wanted to explain to her how painful it was for he and Esme – for his entire family – to leave her behind that time just after her birthday, but the words wouldn't come. He simply held her, unable to let her go, even for a moment. Bella curled closer, a yawn escaping her and causing a blush to rise in her cheeks.

"Go to sleep, Bella," Carlisle said to her softly, loving the gentle mannerisms of his still-human daughter. "I'll stay with you until you're asleep," he assured her, feeling her hand once again fist in the fabric of his shirt.

"You won't leave?" she asked and he could see the vulnerability she struggled to hide.

Bella's voice was so quiet that Carlisle doubted she had meant to speak the words aloud. Still, he assured her that he would remain with her. Toeing off his shoes, he brought his legs up on the bed and turned them, laying back on Edward's pillow while Bella settled herself on his chest and snuggled into his side, the warmth of her body heat soothing away his worry. She sighed quietly as sleep claimed her, her casted arm tucked beneath her chin.

The trees bent and swayed, long fingers of pines and firs reaching out to claw at her face and sides, only to break away and shatter against her impenetrable, stone-like skin. Warm, golden-fire sunlight streaked through the canopy of the trees to sparkle off her hands and face as though her skin were made of so many diamonds.

Orange, red and golden leaves swirled above the ground in funnels she created with the speed of her movements. It didn't matter how fast she moved, though, she couldn't escape the anger that clouded her mind and drove her to move even faster. Two hundred miles across the Canadian border, Rosalie had admitted to herself that she wasn't so much mad at Bella, as she was jealous of her. Admitting to that jealousy had only enraged her further.

Stopping short, she looked up at the darkening sky and for the first time let herself feel the fear caused by Bella's injuries. She knew that everyone – including Bella, herself – thought that she hated the girl. She didn't hate her at all, but to have admitted the truth would've been worse.

Rosalie was beautiful, achingly beautiful. Even when she had been human, she had _always_ been the belle of the ball. The flash of a smile or the fluttering of her lashes had men running and tripping over themselves, just to be the first one to fall at her feet and do her bidding. She'd never had to ask for the attention or work to make the men lust after her; it all just came to her as natural and easy as breathing.

But the one person – the _only _person – to never be affected by her charms or unmatched beauty, had been besotted by a mousy, quiet little _human_ girl. She had never been able to turn Edward's head – not once! But along came Bella. Brown hair, with no real depth of highlight, pale skin that, though flawless of any normal teenage acne, was not in anyway strikingly beautiful in Rosalie's opinion, and a gangly frame. There were so many reasons that Edward should have simply ignored Bella, but ever since he'd met her he had been following her around like a junkie seeking his next high!

Not only Edward, but her _whole damn family _was entranced by Bella for reason that she couldn't even begin to understand! Even Jasper was taken with her, and because of his talent for emotion, he was usually the _last_ person to be swayed by other – human and vampire alike. Growling angrily at herself and the situation she'd found herself in, Rosalie's hand flashed out to her side, her fist ripping through the rough bark and hard trunk of the nearest tree.

"Rosalie Hale Cullen," a delicate Spanish voice reproached her from behind. "There had _best_ be a good reason you had for destroying my Norfolk Pine. Eleazar planted it for me, himself, twenty-five years ago."

Rosalie turned around slowly, not wanting to bear witness to the disapproval she was sure to see on Carmen's face. The Spanish vampire was so much like Esme that there were times the blonde thought of her as a second mother. Disappointment, disapproval, either was ten times worse than anger in her opinion.

"Child," Carmen said, looking into Rosalie's burnt amber orbs. "Tell me, what has happened to bring you to this point?"

Rosalie shook her head. She was a vampire, and thus, never felt fatigue. Now though, she suddenly found herself feeling older than all her years. Leaning heavily against the half-shattered tree behind her, Rosalie looked up at Carmen.

"Bella nearly died, and this time it had nothing to do with one of our kind hunting her."

It wasn't long into her tale that Eleazar came to be by Carmen's side, his arm around his wife as he listened.

"If Bella is so gravely injured, and her human family in such tatters, than why are you here?" Kate asked as she approached.

"Isn't it obvious?" Tanya asked with an indelicate snort. "The bitch is jealous."

Edward looked up from the book in his hands when Jasper's thoughts called to him. Blinking curiously at his brother, Edward stood and followed him outside.

'I have a feeling our conversation will get loud, brother. Bella needs her rest.'

"What is it you want to talk about?" Edward asked sitting on a boulder beside the river.

'You. Your reaction to Bella's injuries and her reaction to everything that has happened.'

Motioning for his brother to join him on the boulder, Edward waited for Jasper to continue.

"A paper cut, or bruise from being clumsy, and you become almost possessive in your efforts to take care of her and keep her safe. A random nightmare and you refuse to leave her side, preferring instead to hold and touch her as much as you can – as much as she'll let you." Edward looked away, knowing the thoughts Jasper intended to speak and ashamed of the truth in them.

"Bella was gravely injured; she could easily have been killed or at the very least, left emotionally traumatized enough that she could've trapped herself inside of her own mind. At a time when she needs you _the most_ you're afraid to even touch her. What's going on with you, Edward? I don't understand half of the emotions that I feel coming from you."

"I…For the first time, I don't know what to do." Edward's quiet confession made him sound lost and confused. "She could've _died_, Jasper." His voice was rough, barely audible, yet at the same time startlingly loud. "When James attacked her, I was enraged, but now…now I'm afraid of making it worse for her."

'How so?' Jasper queried quietly.

"What if I hold her too tight, or touch her in the wrong place and aggravate her injuries? What if I say the wrong thing and make it worse? I can't bear to see her cry."

'She needs to cry, Edward. She needs to release the fear and grief she keeps bottling up or it will tear her apart.'

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked, locking eyes with Jasper. "I thought – everyone thinks – she's handling everything pretty good."

Jasper snorted, moving to stand in front of Edward and looking at the wall of glass that was his brother's room.

"She's not handling this well at all, Edward," Jasper spoke, his voice, though worried, held a note of reproach. "She's so afraid of the breakdown that I _know_ she can feel coming, that she has chosen instead to hide from any negative emotion she has and bury them as deeply as she can…She's going to break, Edward," Jasper cautioned, turning to stare his brother hard in the eye. "And when she does, it's going to painful and messy. For _everyone_."

Jasper returned to the boulder, sitting down and leaning forward with his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands hanging down between his knees. "You can't be afraid to hold her when she asks you to," he told his brother sagely. "If it worries you so much, that you might hurt her, than lay or sit back and let her curl up against you. Bella will let you know what position is comfortable for her. She needs you to hold her, Edward. She needs to not feel abandoned by you."

Jasper felt Edward's shame and regret. Looking at his brother, he shook his head. "Edward, it's all right. It's a tough situation to be in." Jasper closed his eyes, searching out Bella's emotions only to feel stillness from her. "She's asleep. Completely exhausted…"

"Carlisle's still with her," Edward said, able to see Bella through his father's thoughts, through his eyes. "Is it just me, or does Bella get anxious anytime he's gone from her sight for too long?"

"Think about it for a minute, Edward," Jasper said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Renee and Phil are dead, Charlie could very well die, and though she knows that our kind is pretty much indestructible…"

"She's afraid Carlisle might disappear, too," he finished.

"Yup."

'Edward?'

Looking up when he heard Carlisle's voice in his mind, Edward searched for him in the window. 'If you're close enough to hear my thoughts, Kate's on the phone. Rosalie's in Alaska.'

Emmett looked over at Alice, his sister unmoving and statuesque as she focused on a world that no one else could see. It had been two hours since a young doctor had come out to tell them that little Bella's father would soon be moved to recovery. The "something stupid" the man had done, had in fact, been climbing a tree in his family's back yard in order to jump on the roof. He had, for whatever reason decided to forgo using a ladder and ended up falling to a ground.

Apparently, from what the little girl had told them, her father had been a gymnast in high school and foolishly thought he could catch himself. Instead, he had ended up landing hard on his feet – hard enough to jam his leg bones together and shatter at least one patella. The damage had been extensive enough to require surgery to correct the problem.

Esme stood along the wall, near a curtained window, speaking softly into her cell phone. It was then, as Emmett listened in on the conversation, that he realized she was taking care of things for Bella. She was finalizing arrangements with the funeral home when Alice shot to her feet and began to pace impatiently, a scowl of concentration coloring her pixie-like face.

Kneeling down next to the mauve couch where little Bella lay sleeping; Emmett tucked his satin-lined black leather jacket closer around the child's shoulders. Touching the girl's soft, dark curls, he looked up to find Esme watching him. She was no longer talking on her cell phone, the device resting silently in her purse. She was simply watching him; the expression on her face was one of affectionate pride.

"She's a beautiful child," Esme commented, enjoying the fatherly display coming from Emmett. "She's strong, Emmett."

"You don't have to worry so much," Alice said as came to Emmett's side and looked down at the sleeping child. "She will find us again, mainly because you will keep in contact with her." She gave a lopsided grin at the sheepish expression on Emmett's face, his eyes never once leaving little Bella's face. "She'll be beautiful. Really beautiful. The next few years, though, are going to be hard."

"How hard?" Emmett asked, concerned as he touched the child's hair, smoothing it away from her angelic face.

"I've already arranged for a cell phone to be sent to her. She'll have all of our numbers programmed in, but you will be the only one she calls."

"Alice?" Esme's voice was cautious as she questioned her daughter's decision.

"It's been hard to, but I've searched her future," Alice said nodding at the child. "She needs him." Alice drew in a sharp breath, spinning on her heal so fast the move was unseen. "Charlie's out of surgery."

They all grew tense and quiet as they waited for the doctor they could hear walking closer, to come out of the automatic double doors that led to the OR wing. Emmett turned to Alice, needing to know if Charlie was all right, but she shook her head 'no' before he had even opened his mouth to voice the question.

"Swan family?" a man in scrubs asked as he stepped into the room.

"Yes," Esme said, moving to stand in front of Alice and Emmett, creating a small triangle.

"Chief Swan survived the surgery; he's definitely a fighter."

The man wasn't saying much and Esme could read the same tension in his shoulders that she'd often seen in Carlisle's before he had to tell a patient's family the 'bad news'. Emmett could see the man's hesitation as well, the way he held back from saying something.

"What aren't you telling us?" Emmett asked a bit aggressively.

"He's on life support," the man said regretfully. "The next forty-eight hours will be crucial. If he makes it through…" the man trailed off, hating this part of his job to the extreme.

"You don't think he will?" Esme asked, her eyes wide, fearful for what her Bella had already been through.

"Ma'am, in all honesty, the bullets did a lot of damage. One was a through and through, through his left shoulder. The other…the other bullet went in at an angle. It bounced around inside of him like a pinball game. Luckily, no major organs were hit, but it pierced through the lower quadrant of his right lung and lodged near his spine. He lost more than half of his blood by the time he made it to my table. It took us a long time, but we got the damage repaired and the bullet fragments removed. The rest is up to him."

Esme nodded quietly, looking to Alice only to see the girl shake her head. The future was still uncertain; Charlie was nothing but a phasing blur in her future sight. Nothing was certain.

"Thank you," Esme said to the doctor, her voice was quiet and restrained as she struggled to control her emotions. "Doctor if you would be so kind, my husband is Doctor Carlisle Cullen. If you would have Charlie's medical records faxed over to him so that we may prepare for his continued treatment?"

"Of course, Mrs. Cullen. I've heard of your husband, he's a good man."

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded slowly, pursing his lips before he looked her in the eye once more. "It will be a few hours before he will be moved from recovery into his own room. You all look like you could some rest and food, there's a little café just down the block."

"Thank you, again," Esme said, smiling gently as the man turned away and went back through the OR doors.

Alice plucked her cell phone from her pocket before the device even had a chance to ring and answered the incoming call. She spoke quickly and quietly to Kate, surprised to be the one the Denali sister had chosen to call. Answering what she could of the woman's questions, she soon ended the call, turning her attention on her brother.

"I know you're not happy that Rose took off, but believe me when I tell you that it's better this way."

"She's in Denali," he stated, having overheard the call.

"Is she coming home?" Esme asked, torn between the disappointment she felt at Rosalie's actions, and the worry she had for her emotional state.

"Not right away," Alice said, her own voce growing taught with emotion. "The sisters want Rose to stay for awhile…" Alice trailed off, the desperate need to hear Jasper's voice causing her chest tighten painfully.

_'Bella'_

Carlisle looked down at the open journal sitting before him on the desk, surprised by how harsh his penmanship was. Taken off guard by the sight of his shaking hands, he dropped his pen into the divide between the pages and clasped his hands together in an effort to still them. He knew the sensation of the nausea he felt was only in his mind, caused by the emotions he'd been trying to fight away. Still, he bent over, his eyes tightly shut as he fought back the storm raging within him.

His eyes stung, his throat closing restricting breath he didn't need. He could feel his body shaking, his chest heaving with the dry sobs that he refused to give voice to. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and struggled to calm himself as he removed the device from his pants pocket. His limbs felt heavy as he rested his forearms against the lip of his desk, his smile was small and grateful when he saw his wife's name on the LCD display.

Answering the call on speaker, he placed the phone on his desk, closing his eyes slowly as he listened to his wife's sweet voice.

"I love you," Esme said lieu of a greeting.

"My love, my Angel," he spoke reverently, "I miss you so."

Esme's velvet birdsong held him captivated with each word she spoke. With his eyes closed he could imagine that he was holding her in his arms, that she was there sitting on his lap as she often did when they were alone together in his study.

"She'll be all right, Carlisle," Esme assured him, her gentle voice soothing. "Our girl is strong. She has all of us here to support her."

His voice trembled when he spoke, the uncontrolled emotions he felt from earlier had calmed so quickly that they left him feeling weak.

"I can't stop seeing her laying there on our table, covered in blood and ice. There was so much blood…so many injuries…the feel of her in my arms when she cried…"

"I remember," she told him, her voice quiet, melancholy, as her mind took her back to that night. "I have to go, my love. The doctor is coming out to speak with us again. I love you. Take care of our daughter."

"I will. I love you." He breathed in deeply as he ended the call and sat back in his chair.

Releasing slowly the breath that he'd been holding as he opened himself up to the emotions he'd been fighting against, Carlisle tucked his phone back into his pocket. Sitting up and pulling his chair just a little closer to his desk, he picked up his pen and turned once more to his open journal.

'_My beautiful daughter, Bella, is asleep upstairs in Edward's room and I find my mind to be consumed with thoughts of her. I felt myself break today as the memories of her injuries overcame me, pushing away all rational sense that told me she was safe in my arms. I fear that the next few days are going to be very difficult for us all._

_ Charlie's doctor is doubtful that he will make it through the next forty-eight hours; and while I know that Charlie is a fighter, his injuries were extensive. Rosalie is in Denali with our friends there. Why she has so much trouble with Bella I will never know. My eldest daughter is, more often than not, very difficult for me to understand. From the beginning, Bella's mere presence has agitated her. There is no rational reason for her reaction. I have asked Jasper, and though he can sense her emotions clearly, he has no explanation for them either. Although there are times I have been tempted to ask Edward, I dare never intrude upon my own family in such a manner.'_

Carlisle's head came up, his brow furrowing and his pen stilling when the first whimpers reached his ears. He waited silently, keeping absolutely still for a moment, just long enough to hear another whimper come from Bella. He was up and out of his office in a blur of half-seconds, his feet barely touching the stairs as he raced up them. He very nearly collided with both Jasper and Edward when they all came to the bedroom door simultaneously.

Stepping inside the room first, Carlisle looked to the bed to see Bella's chest heaving, tears dampening her face. She was still asleep, the nightmare ravaging her mind causing her to thrash and twist about. He caught her shoulders in his hands seconds after she rolled her cast beneath her body, pulling on the trapped arm in her sleep. Edward stayed near the door, watching as Jasper flew to Bella's other side and sat on the bed with her. He shook his head angry with himself. Edward had comforted Bella through so many other nightmares, especially after James, why was it so difficult for him to comfort her through this?

Deep in the back of her mind, Bella knew that she was dreaming. Yet for all her knowledge, the pain she felt and everything she saw, smelled, and felt, told her that her dream was, in fact, reality. No matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the flow of tears that choked her and shook her slight frame…

Her voice was choked by emotions too powerful to be controlled, her vision blurred by the ice and rain covering her windshield. A hissing voice that tried to form words sounded from the silver device next to her, and once more she begged her mother to speak to her. A gurgled moan was the only response she was given, followed after a long moment by a pained, exhausted whimper.

"**No, mom! Don't** **go to sleep!** **Stay. Awake!"**

She turned the corner hard, the gears grinding and protesting as she pushed the truck to go faster. The back tires spun, losing their grip on the icy road and causing the vehicle to fishtail wildly out of control. Tears of rage and desperation fell from her eyes as she fought for – and regained – control of the truck. She was panting, hyperventilating, as she struggled for control over the rising panic that threatened to drown her alive.

Racing around another dark corner, a blind curve already due to the thick foliage, the headlights of the truck flashed across the twisted and smoking remnants of a two-car crash. It was clear to anyone that the vehicles had hit head on, her mother's car so crushed it was barely recognizable. She pumped her foot furiously against the non-responsive break pedal and choked back a scream when she jerked the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting the cars and lost control. Wet rubber screeched against icy-wet asphalt and a terrified, panicked scream sounded from the girl as she raised her arms up to cover her face.

The powerful 'boom' of her truck colliding with the massive, unforgiving tree reverberated through the body of the vehicle like an earthquake, shattering the windshield and driver's side window. Her own pained, fearful cry sounded in her ears as she was thrown hard into the steering wheel, the force of the hit knocking her breath out of her and smacking her head against the side of the doorframe. Glass from the windshield had embedded itself deeply into her upper arms, and created superficial cuts along her brow and left cheek. Shaking so badly, she was afraid she would become ill; the girl did what she could to steady her breath.

She groaned, her eyes blinking open slowly and taking too long to focus, the world around her blurred and unsteady. She found herself to be lying on her side, pain lancing up her left side when she moved her leg, the ground beneath her frozen. Movement was painful. But as she struggled to a sitting position and choked on air thick with smoke, she found breathing to be excruciating. Resting against the side of her truck, she fought against the darkness that beckoned her and the nausea that twisted her stomach into nearly unbearable knots. Looking to her right, she saw the mangled mess that was left of the two cars twisted together and knew that she had to get to her mother.

The noxious scents of burning rubber, engine smoke, and blood choked and nauseated her. Bracing her right hand on the truck's front tire she tried to pull herself to her feet. Her hand slipped on the wet rubber, her feet unable to find purchase on the wet ice and she cried out as she fell to the ground, cutting and scraping the skin of her cheekbone on the road's unforgiving surface. Tiny pebbles and glass fragments embedded themselves into the heels of her hands as she struggled for purchase and once again tried to rise.

Steeling herself against the burning, stabbing pain in her left wrist and forearm and the throbbing ache in her left knee and hip, she pushed herself to her hands and knees. Her entire body trembled violently with the effort it took to simply stay crouched on all fours. Blinking quickly as she fought once more against the darkness, and bit back the bile rising to burn the back of her throat, she looked up only to be blinded by the too bright headlights of the cars in front of her.

"Mom," she choked out weakly, not noticing when tears began streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the still falling rain.

She was dizzy – so dizzy that it took her four tries, with as many painful falls, to stand up and stay on her feet. Stumbling away from her truck, and fighting against the icy, wet road beneath her, she clenched her jaw against the pain that every move – every breath – brought and swallowed back the rising nausea. Shaking her head against the throbbing headache and vertigo that threatened to steal away her consciousness and blurred her vision, she made her way slowly, unsteadily to the twisted metal of the two cars in front of her.

It was so difficult to move and hurt so much to breathe. She stumbled, slipping in the ice and gathering rain water as she made her way to the twisted cars. She stopped cold when she looked at the cars that were mangled together. One was Charlie's cruiser; the other was Carlisle's Mercedes.

"No," she choked, shaking her head back and forth, her hands covering her mouth. "No, no, no, no, no. NO!" she screamed, sobbing as she ran and stumbled toward the cars.

_'Bella, wake up. You need to wake up, Sweetheart.'_

_'It's all right, Bella, you're safe. You're here with us.'_

She knew the voices that came through to her, soft as whispers in her mind; she could hear Edward and Jasper talking to her. But stronger than the voices, were the sights of Carlisle, Esme, and Charlie's bodies tucked inside their cars. They were lifeless, unmoving, torn and broken, their blood spilled everywhere.

"No," she whimpered, choking back a sob as she reached through the broken driver's side window of the Mercedes. "Wake up," she begged, touching Carlisle's shoulder, his broken face.

She cried out, falling back, when both he and Esme burst into flames. The firs was so hot that it burned electric blue, the smoke as thick and black as tar. The sickening sweet smell of the smoke burned her throat and stung her eyes as she watched them turn to ash.

"NO!"

Bella screamed, terrified and grieving when she woke. Scrambling to get off the bed, the vampires surrounding her backed away; worried she was going to be sick. She ran out of the room, almost colliding with the wall in her haste. She didn't head for the bathroom, though, instead she ran into Carlisle and Esme's room, unable to control the sobs that broke from her, the sobs that choked her.

Jasper's hand shot out, catching himself against the wall as he doubled over, unable to handle the strength of the emotions coming from Bella. He had to get rid of the, push them away so that he could calm enough to regain control. He knew the very second Edward and Carlisle felt the emotions he projected, their movements stopping cold, for nanoseconds before Carlisle was once again following Bella, worry lines etched into his brow. Coming up behind Bella where she stood in the center of his room, Carlisle turned her around slowly, his hand on her shoulder.

"Bella?"

She looked up at the sound of his voice, the harsh sob that tore from her throat breaking his heart. The moment she saw him, she crumbled. She was trembling so violently when she fell against his chest, burying her face in his shirt. Her arms wrapped so tightly around his waist that he was afraid she would hurt herself, but he returned the embrace just as fiercely, kissing her hair and rubbing her back in slow gentle circles.

"Oh, Bella." He hugged her close, stroking her hair. "Hush, Sweetheart, I've got you. I'm here."

"I-I can't f-find her," she whimpered, gripping the back of his shirt fiercely in her hand, her casted arm tight against his back.

"Find who, Bella?" Carlisle asked as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bed. He sat down, holding her in his lap and cuddled her close. The way her body shook with her sobs worried him.

Jasper and Edward stood near the door, both wanting to be near her and offer her their comfort, but both feeling as though they would be intruding if they moved any closer. Jasper had regained control of himself quickly, no longer projecting the painful emotions he felt coming from Bella, each wave stronger than the last, anxiety and desperation mixed in. Carlisle tucked her into the cradle of his shoulder, curling his arm around her shoulder as he held her.

"M-mama," she choked out her voice catching on a hiccup. "I can't find her."

Carlisle felt his eyes prick and his silent heart twist as he held her closer, trying to shield her from the ugliness of it all. "Sweetheart, Renee died, remember?"

"Not Renee," she fairly growled. "Mama."

"Bella?" Jasper said as he came up in front of Carlisle and knelt down in front of the girl, his hand touching her cheek when she looked at him. "Are you looking for Esme?"

"That's what I said," she whimpered, hiccupping.

Jasper removed his cell phone from his pocket a mere second before it rang and was greeted by Alice's sweet voice. Esme was on the line not a second later, her voice concerned when she mentioned to him the nightmare Alice had seen. Edward stayed near the door of the bedroom, uncertain of what to do as he watched Jasper hand the phone to Bella, encouraging her to put the device up to her ear. Edward cursed himself once more. Why couldn't he comfort her? Why did he remain so frozen?

"Bella?" Esme's voice sounded from the device and Bella sobbed harshly into the phone, clutching it tighter in her hand. "I'm here, honey. I'm right here."

Bella still had yet to realize that she was only calling Esme "Mama", having not spoken the woman's name once since she woke. She felt Carlisle rest his cheek on top of her head, holding her close as he rocked her gently, Jasper staying where he knelt in front of them. The girl listened as Esme spoke to her, soothing her as much as she was able.

"I can come home, Bella," Esme told her as the girl calmed, Jasper refusing to chase away the emotions she needed to deal with. "You just say the word, Bella, and I'll come home."

Leaning into the cradle of Carlisle's arms, spent by her tears, Bella wanted so badly to ask Esme to come home, but couldn't stand the idea of being that selfish. She wasn't the only one who needed Esme, there was Charlie and the little Bella that Emmett had told her about last night when he called her before she went to bed. Ever since he'd happened across her one night, caught in the throes of a nightmare after James had attacked her, he'd taken to telling her stories of the memories he had of his human sisters before she fell asleep. She was sure Edward had known, but the way Emmett took care of her when Edward was away hunting always made her feel treasured to have found such a big brother in the dark haired vampire.

"No," she said, her voice catching on her tears. "I-I'm ok." Bella yawned, curling closer to Carlisle as sleep beckoned to her. "It was just a b-bad dream."

"I don't care if it's a dream or not, Bella," Esme said soothing her. "You need me and I'll be there."

"O-k," Bella said around another yawn, half-asleep already. "I love you," she said, her eyes closing as sleep claimed her.

Carlisle touched his lips to Bella's hair as he took the phone from her limp hand. "She's asleep," he told Esme, tucking the phone between his ear and shoulder as he moved Bella to lay her down in their bed. "You and I both know she won't ask for it," he said and looked toward the door to find the entryway empty, Edward no longer there. "I think our son needs you, too." He listened to her as he tucked the blankets around Bella. "I'll see you soon, my love...No, I'm going to stay with Bella. I don't want her to be alone if she has another nightmare."

"And Edward?" Esme asked him. "How is he handling all of this?"

"Not well at all," Jasper answered from where he stood at the foot of the bed, knowing that Esme would hear him clearly. He watched Carlisle put the call on speaker and toss the phone down below Bella's feet as he settled beside her on the bed. "I believe your counsel would help him greatly, Esme."

"Alice is going to stay here with Emmett. Little Bella's father is out of surgery, but there's been no word on her mother, nor the baby. Alice has suffered migraines trying to search for the woman's future, but can only see blurs of the baby."

"Esme, use caution," Carlisle warned gently. "Her mother could've died of be comatose from complications. How is her father doing?"

"He'll be needing a good deal of recovery time and quite a bit of physical therapy. It'll be at least a year, from the doctor's estimation, before he'll be able to walk unassisted. We've tried to find out what we can about any family that can come and help out, but it seems that neither mother nor father has any family to speak of. From what the doctor that knows the mother told us, they're both foster children."

Carlisle sighed silently, bowing his head from where he sat next to Bella, his back against the headboard. "Call Eleazar and Carmen, explain the situation and let them speak to Little Bella. We can't have newborns in the house with Bella's injuries, but they might consider adding to their coven."

"And the children?" Esme asked.

"If needed, we can take them in while their parents adjust to this life."

"Alice is agreeing with you, she's calling Carmen now."

Carlisle nodded, smoothing his fingers across Bella's brow. "I love you, Esme."

"And I, you, Carlisle. Take care of our daughter, I'll be home soon."

The phone beeped, signaling the end of the call and Jasper took the device. Tucking it back into his pants pocket, he climbed up on the bed and lay down on Bella's side, opposite Carlisle.

"You should go talk to Edward, he's very conflicted."

Carlisle nodded, watching as Bella rolled onto her side in her sleep and curled into Jasper's side. Kissing her forehead, Jasper wrapped his arm around her back, his hand resting on her hip. Giving her a gentle squeeze, he infused ribbons of comfort and safety into her sleeping mind. Carlisle rose from the bed, ghosting from the room, searching for his son while leaving Bella in Jasper's care.

"You've got everyone in knots, you know," Jasper whispered to the sleeping girl in his arms. "We all love you so much and are so worried about you. You'll never want for anything as long as you're with us."

Bella curled closer, her casted arm resting on his chest. "Mine," she mumbled in her sleep, much to his amusement.

"I think you'd have to fight Alice for that," he joked lightly.

"My f'm'ly," she responded, her voice muffled by sleep.

Jasper hugged her close, feeling his heart both tighten and expand with the emotions she inspired with her words.

"Always," he promised her, reverently. "Always."


	5. Chapter 5

Bette Noir

~*~Chapter 5~*~

"It would be another two hundred years and thirty years before I would see my love's beautiful face again, though now she answered to the name Jacqueline. To look into her sparkling emerald eyes and know that my beloved Marguerite was gone…"

Esme's bell-toned voice trailed into silence and she looked down at the sleeping girl next to her. Lifting the green silk hair ribbon from where it rested on her thigh, she tucked it in between the pages and set the centuries-old book aside. Sitting with her back against the headboard, Esme let her hand fall gently to smooth over Bella's hair in long, slow strokes.

A sudden feeling of pride welled up inside of Esme as she looked down upon the battered and bruised girl sleeping next to her. Bella was so traumatized by the events that had recently plagued her, yet still she had told Esme to take care of the child instead of coming home to her.

Looking up when she heard the bedroom door open, Esme greeted Edward with a warm smile. Responding in kind, Edward came to sit at Bella's side, opposite his adoptive mother, and looked down upon his sleeping love. His movements were measured and slow as he trailed his fingertips over her face, gently tracing one bruise after another. He could hear the confusion in Esme's thoughts, though she directed none of them to him. Turning his eyes on Esme, Edward sat back and looked at her quietly.

"Edward," Esme spoke aloud, only for the benefit of Carlisle who sat tucked away in his office. "You've been avoiding Bella. Why?"

Edward sat quietly giving his father time as he slowly made his way up the stairs as well as giving himself the time to find the right words to express his thoughts and feelings. That first night when he saw Bella's face, bruised and cut, and knowing that there were worse injuries hidden beneath her clothing had left him shaken to his core. He waited for Carlisle, nodding when the man poked his head inside the door, and motioned for him to sit next to Esme.

"Bella is my life," Edward began slowly, still forming the words to speak his thoughts. "Her warmth, the beating of her heart, the sound of her breath…it all calls to me, sings to me. The thought of taking that away, of destroying what endears me so to her humanity, has been abhorrent to me since day one. To know that this life," Edward motioned to himself, "that our immortality is something that she not only desires, but sees as a gift and not as damnation…it was almost too much to take. And then to come to realize that for Bella there has never been a choice – that she would never choose to be without any of us…"

Edward's voice trailed off and he turned his attention to the human girl sleeping in the bed. He brushed his hand lightly over her hair while studying the bruises and scrapes marring her face. To any human they would have seen the surface discoloration and only the very surface of the cuts on her skin. For Edward and his family though, their superior vision could see the different stages of healing could see where the blood was still damp and watch as it clotted and began mending.

"She wants me to change her. For so long I've resisted the idea, tried my best to distract her…And then Alice found me and I saw Bella through her eyes," he looked up at Carlisle, "the way you and Emmett found her. I've never run faster…Had I seen her before you'd had a chance to clean and bandage her …I would have changed her then, no questions asked, no hesitation. That scared me more than anything, I think. I couldn't allow myself to be near her until I knew that I wouldn't be tempted to change her."

'_Edward,' _Carlisle spoke in his thoughts, '_had there been any doubt as to her survival that night, I would have changed her then.'_

"I know, Carlisle, and I thank you for that," Edward said with a slight nod of his head.

Edward took a deep, unnecessary breath and looked back toward the bedroom door. Jasper stood just outside, waiting to come in while he spoke with Edward through his thoughts. Brow furrowing, Edward looked to Carlisle.

"Tanya is here," Edward told Carlisle and Esme. "Jasper and Alice met her while they were out hunting. She wishes to speak with both you and Esme."

Nodding only once, Carlisle stood and went to the window. Starring out into the thickness of the forest he watched as the trees moved in a set path, blonde hair appearing seconds before Tanya stepped into the clearing behind their home. He turned his head, his golden eyes meeting Esme's briefly before he opened the glass window and alighting gracefully to the ground below. Esme followed seconds after and Jasper stepped into the room.

"You're at peace," Jasper spoke aloud, his voice pleasantly surprised.

"Yes," Edward spoke quietly as he tucked the blankets around Bella and stood. "Come, we should let her rest."

Jasper followed Edward downstairs and into Carlisle's study. Picking up a leather bound journal, unmarked but well read, Edward handed it to Jasper. Nodding to the black swan feather that was used as a page marker, he waited for Jasper to open the book and read the passage contained within the pages.

_ I have read about such things happening, but never once had I imagined such a moment befalling me. I had met her years ago as a girl, but when I caught the scent of her blood, it happened. That one, perfect – singular moment of absolute clarity and I knew then that all the authors spoke the truth when they said that a single moment of clarity can break a man and heal him in the same moment._

_ Years ago, when I met Esme Platt, she was only 16. I found myself heartbroken to leave her behind, but so drawn to her was I that I didn't dare risk staying any longer. Then two nights ago, when the scent of her blood was heavy in the air, there was absolutely no question – no doubt in my mind or soul that she belonged to this life – that she belonged with me. It took her dying as a human for me to understand the pull that I felt for her and the knowledge that my life as a vampire was not a mistake, nor damnation. For through this gift of eternity, not only was I brought to meet her, but through this gift I was able to grant her the freedom she so richly deserves._

_C.C._

Jasper replaced the feather as he closed the leather-bound journal and looked up at Edward. Closing his eyes as the memory of holding Bella's blanket wrapped body flooded his mind, Jasper breathed in deeply. The feel of her emotions – so raw and powerful – was as fresh and real to him now as they were in the moments that he had held her.

"I understand completely," Jasper said handing back to Edward Carlisle's journal. "Alice is worried."

"So is Tanya," Edward confirmed. "You would think that Rosalie would be more understanding."

Jasper's eyes darkened. "Rose has been jealous of Bella from the very beginning."

Emmett sat silently, holding the sleeping child in his lap and watching curiously as Alice rubbed her temples, trying once again to search for any hint of the child's future. Reaching out to his sister, Emmett tapped her arm and waited for her to look up at him. A person didn't have to have her talent to know what he was offering. Moving slowly, her migraine building stronger, Alice curled into his side.

Wrapping his arm around Alice and tucking her closer into his side, Emmett rested his cheek on her hair and breathed in slowly. Closing her eyes and relaxing into her brother's embrace, Alice took comfort in his warmth and strength.

"You've been trying for days now, Ali," Emmett told her gently. "You're wearing yourself out and you haven't hunted once since you've been here."

"I hate not knowing," she confessed, her voice strained with worry. "Our kind doesn't get tired, but for the first time that I can remember, all I want to do is sleep."

Emmett hugged her closer. "Then close your eyes, Ali. I've got you."

Alice sighed softly, her body relaxing against his as she accepted the shelter he offered her. His dark hazel eyes looked down at the sleeping human girl curled up on his lap. The child was so fragile, so tiny, so ...young . He knew that she would be hungry when she awoke and wondered what he should order for her from the little café across the street.

"Chocolate chip pancakes," Alice told him, her voice so soft that no human would have heard. "With whipped cream, not syrup."

Looking up at the approaching heartbeat, Emmett gave a smile of gratitude when the nurse quietly offered him the light blanket she held in her arms. Holding onto the edges and letting the violet fleece fall open, the dark haired woman tucked it around Alice and the child.

"You have a beautiful family," she told him as she stepped away.

"Not worth it," Alice said too quietly for anyone but Emmett to hear when he opened his mouth to correct the nurse.

"Thought you really had fallen asleep," Emmett whispered to her.

"If that were actually possible for one of our kind, I'd be snoring," she said in reference to the exhaustion she felt.

"If you did snore I'd never stop teasing you about it."

He felt Alice vibrate slightly with her soundless laughter. "You mean like how you won't let Esme forget that she belched while feeding on that Elk two years ago? It's no wonder she won't hunt with you anymore."

"Hey, even Carlisle thought it was funny," he chuckled.

"Perhaps," Alice said. "But Carlisle didn't teas her about it for two weeks straight."

"Alice?" Emmett tucked her closer. "I keep thinking that we should take Bella to a hotel or something, but I don't want to leave Charlie and her parents here alone in case something happens."

"That's why I'm here," Carmen said, approaching from the entryway far across the room. "Both of you need to hunt," she said coming to stand before them. "By the way, did either of you know that there's a werewolf outside?"

"That's Jake," Alice said, her eyes barely open. "He's Bella's – Edward's Bella – friend."

"Ah."

Carmen watched the trio curled on the waiting room sofa, the child so perfectly matched to both Alice and Emmett's coloring. Her features were so delicate and fairy-like that the Spanish vampire was certain that any human would consider these two Cullens to be the child's natural born parents.

"I will stay here and await any news. You two see to the child's needs and your own."

Standing slowly and folding the queen-sized blanket, Alice watched Emmett stand with the child cradled in his arms. He looked every bit the doting father enchanted by the tiny child he held and it was in that moment that both Alice and Carmen understood Rosalie's irrational anger born of jealousy.

Thanking the nurse for her kindness and the use of the blanket, Alice asked that their 'Aunt' Carmen be kept fully informed of all updates on Charlie and Bella's parents. Watching Emmett walk through the door, the sleeping girl in his arms, Alice was suddenly struck still with a vision she didn't want to see. Looking toward the doors that led to the surgical suite, the pixie-haired vampire whispered a silent goodbye.

"You're being ridiculous and irrational," Kate scolded Rosalie as the taller blonde ranted once again about her 'stupid brother's pointless infatuation'. "You realize, my dear that Bella could have easily died that night?"

"That fool wants to die," Rosalie sneered.

"Not like this, Rose, I can promise you that." Starring into the crackling fireplace, Kate shook her head. "Why does Bella's desire to be with Edward bother you so much?"

Rosalie spun around so quickly that Kate growled at her in response. Standing back, Rose sighed angry at the other vampire's ignorance.

"None of us chose this life," she began slowly, speaking to Kate as though she were talking with a child. "Had any of us seen vampires when we were human we would have run the other way."

"But Bella knows about our kind – our world – and she isn't running," Kate pointed out.

"No," Rosalie sneered. "That little fool wants to be one of us. She would willing give up her life, her heartbeat, her ability to bear a child, and for what? For this?"

_And that's the crux of it all, isn't it Rose?_ Kate thought as she watched the blonde begin to pace once more. "Rosalie Cullen, how selfish of you."

"_Selfish?_" Rosalie hissed furiously.

"Just because you still desire a child of your womb, what makes you think that Bella ever has? Not every woman desires to be a mother."

"What she _desires_ is to die!"

Kate narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you angry that Bella's choosing to give up her humanity, or that she is being given the chance to make an informed decision and still chooses this life over her human one?" Kate sat back stunned at her own revelations. "That's it, isn't it? You're mad that Bella, knowing everything she knows, still chooses to be a vampire when you would choose to be human."

"_It's insane!_"

"No it's not. Rosalie, look at us through her eyes. We may be vampires, yes, but we are not soulless. Nor are we murderous, out of control, or evil as so many stories depict our kind to be. Yes, she will lose her human life to gain a new life, but the taking of human life is not necessary for our survival. We don't live as solitary beings – not the vampires that she knows. We live together and love each other as _family_. We support and care for each other. To her, this life is not the darkness and damnation that you make it out to be."

"She'll hate it."

"No," Kate chuckled, "I don't think she ever will."

The anger drained from Rosalie as she stood starring into the flames. "All I've ever wanted was a child. To feel it grow with in me and hold it in my arms."

"What about this little Bella? This human child you said that your mate is caring for?"

"That child will come to know about our kind. She will either be killed or changed once she comes of age."

"And a child of your own would not?" Kate asked as she looked out the window to see Carlisle and Esme standing in the snow.

"If I had a child of my own I would not be a vampire." Rosalie stated with certainty.

"You don't know that. You were meant for this life, Rose, we all were. One way or another – even had the turning been different – we would all be as we are now."

Rosalie snorted indelicately. "When did you start waxing philosophical?"

"It comes in spurts," Kate grinned. "You might as well come in. How long have you two been out there?" she asked as Carlisle and Esme stepped inside and hung their coats up on the wall.

"Long enough," Esme answered gently. "Rose, do you truly hate being one of us so much?"

"No," Rosalie said, her demeanor tired. "I've just always wanted a child so much more."

"It wouldn't be unthinkable for you and Emmett to adopt," Carlisle pointed out reasonably.

"For our kind, Carlisle? It's unthinkable. We'd be condemning the child to death as soon as they were of age."

"There is no undoing what we are," Carlisle said, searching his daughter's eyes in the hopes that she had not considered it possible.

"I don't know that I would want to be human, so much as I would want the function of it. I love Emmett. I love all of you. That has never once been a question for me."

"Than what is the question?" Esme asked Rosalie.

Rosalie found herself without the words to express her thoughts and was surprised when Kate spoke for her.

"The question, dear ones, is how can Bella be so at peace with this life when Rosalie is not?"

Edward looked down at Bella, his love sleeping so peacefully, and wished for the thousandth time that he could heal her wounds. Hearing Jasper's thoughts as his brother approached, Edward looked up, seeking his endless wisdom.

'_Just lay down next to her, Edward,_' Jasper thought as he walked into the room, '_she'll find a comfortable position against you.'_

Toeing off his shoes, Edward did as instructed a grin forming when Bella spoke his name in her sleep. Jasper stood leaning against the doorframe as he monitored Bella's emotions. He was happy to see that she was doing better, gaining more control over her despair and fear.

Feeling his cell phone vibrate in his jeans pocket, Jasper removed the device and opened the text message from Alice. His eyes widened and met Edward's before both turned their attention to the girl waking slowly in the bed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Carlisle stood within the confines of his office, the door closed. He held his cell phone to his ear, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other hand as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin line and he nodded, before realizing that the person on the other end of the call would be blind to his gesture. He spoke softly of his understanding, acknowledging the news he was being told and wondering just when the hurricane of suffering would end for the girl sleeping upstairs.

"Would you be so kind as to send me the detailed surgical and death report so that I may fully explain what has happened to his daughter?" he requested, opening his burnt butterscotch eyes that were rapidly getting darker. Yes, thank you again," he said after a long moment and provided his fax number, turning on the machine, before disconnecting the call.

He had stayed with Bella while the rest of his family had hunted. He had waited in his office, looking over medical reports for little Bella's father, while Edward became more comfortable holding and comforting Bella upstairs. It had been almost a full week since Bella had crashed her truck, since Emmett had found her stumbling through the ice and freezing rain. It had been almost ten days since he had hunted and he could feel his control beginning to slip. He knew he would never harm Bella, never harm any one of his family members, but could feel his rising frustration and mixed emotions, borne from everything that had happened, demanding to be released.

"Come in," he acknowledged the light tapping on the door.

"You need to hunt," Esme told her husband, watching as he nodded, seeing the silent strain etched in his face. "What happened? Carlisle?"

"Charlie didn't make it," he said quietly, his voice choked and painfully rough. "Little Bella's mother died as well. The doctor's had to perform an emergency C-section; she died seconds after they cut her open."

"The baby?" Esme asked, her arms wrapping around his waist from behind, her cheek pressed against his back as she tried to comfort him.

"The baby's fine. A little boy, six pounds, two ounces and eighteen inches long. She wasn't quite to term, but the baby was fully developed enough that he isn't even in need of an incubator. Alice was able to convince the medical personnel that she was the woman's sister, and because of the way that Bella refused to be taken from her 'Uncle Emmett', the hospital released the infant to their care." Carlisle grew quiet, carefully unwinding Esme's arms from around his waist as he gathered the stack of papers from the fax machine and sat down.

"And their father?" Esme asked, readily taking Carlisle's outstretched hand and letting him pull her down to sit astride his lap.

Looking out into the grey skies of the falling night, Carlisle drew in a deep breath, hoping that the unneeded physical action would bring him some measure of peace. Shaking his head, his arms were on either side of Esme's waist, holding her in place while his hands moved through the faxed documents searching for the ones holding information on the man's condition.

"Here we are," he said as he came to the name he didn't recognize and his eyes flared wide at the familiar last name. "Lukas McCarty…you don't suppose?"

"Emmett did say he had two sisters and who's to say his parents didn't have more children after he joined our family."

Carlisle pursed his lips in contemplation and nodded as he returned his attention to the medical information. The man's right femur and tibia had slammed together so hard as to crush the tops of the bones together and completely shatter his fibula. The patella of his right knee would have to be replaced with a silicone metal composite. His left leg was almost worse. Again, the bottom of the femur and the top of the tibia were crushed together, but he had landed harder on his left leg and had broken his ankle as well.

"It says here that he made it through the first surgery fairly well, but in the next four days he's going to have to undergo at least two more surgeries to repair the damage and that at the very least, his right patella will have to be replace with a prosthetic implant. Over the next twenty four hours they're going to be testing for nerve and muscle damage, after which they're going to have to reconstruct his lateral and medial condyle of both tibias with silicone caps. Due to the level of pain he's currently in, they've not sure how he's going to handle the next few surgeries." He sighed, letting his forehead fall against his wife's shoulder as he read through the end notes made by the nursing staff. "There's doubt as to whether he'll be able to walk again."

Startled by the sudden trill of her cell phone in the quiet of his office, Esme pulled the device from her pocket and answered it. She smiled at the sound of Emmett's voice and laughed softly before agreeing to her adopted son's request. Carlisle smiled, his worry for the moment forgotten as he set the small stack of papers aside on his desk and leaned back in his padded leather chair, wrapping his arms around his wife and tucking her against his chest as she spoke into her phone.

"Hello there, Bella," Esme greeted, smiling at the soft voice of the young child. "Oh he did, did he?" she laughed softly and looked up at Carlisle, his silent chuckles telling her that he had heard the child's words as well.

Bella spoke animatedly about the chocolate chip pancakes that she had now had four days in a row, and the macaroni and cheese that she was currently eating. She told Esme about coloring with Alice and the stories that Emmett would tell her after he tucked her into bed for the night. Her hand rose to her heart, her eyes shining with affection when the little girl she was talking to slipped and called her "Gramma". Noticing her slip up the second time that she used the familial title, Bella asked if it was alright, her voice hesitant.

"Of course it is, Sweetheart," Esme assured the child, the smile on her face brilliant. "Would you like to say hi to Papa Carlisle?" she asked smiling up at her husband when he stroked her hair. "Here you go, Little One."

"Hello, Bella," Carlisle said, smiling as he held the device to his ear. "Oh, I'm alright, Little One. How are you?...Yes, well Uncle Emmett can be quite amusing." The little girl talked about everything and nothing before finally asking what would happen with her and her new little brother. "Well," he began, his eyes meeting Esme's as he spoke with the child. "You and your brother would come home with Uncle Emmett and Aunt Alice and live our family for a little while. Your father's going to need a lot of personalized care and therapy before he'll be able to take care of you and your brother again."

He shook his head, a bemused smile curving his lips. The tiny child on the other end of the phone adapted quickly to what he told her, adjusting to the change that was necessary without fear or hesitation and he knew that her comfort with the situation was due in great part to Emmett's presence. It was easy to tell just how much little Bella adored Emmett and took comfort in his playful antics and protective comfort. Emmett had snapped a picture of her doll-like face with his cell phone, sending it to Carlisle a few days ago, along with a picture of the perfect infant boy that Alice had held in her arms.

"Angels?" he asked, shaking his head slowly as he chuckled silently. "Well, Aunt Alice is right, we are 'different', but I don't know about us being angels."

Esme looked toward the office door when she sensed her son's presence and met Edward's concerned eyes. Rubbing Carlisle's shoulder before standing and moving to Edward's side, she shook her head in silent question.

"I can't wake up Bella, she keeps calling for you," he told her and nodded at the thoughts that raced through her mind. "Yeah, I think it's the same nightmare."

"Stay down here with Carlisle," she instructed before disappearing out the door and up the stairs.

:::::

Esme moved quietly into Edward's bedroom, looking down at Bella's sleeping form and closed her eyes against the mottled bruising on the girl's face. Carlisle had warned her that the bruising would get worse, become darker, before it got better. After five days Bella's purplish and blue marks had turned almost black, but she maintained that the pain wasn't that bad and would not actively ask for the morphine that Carlisle kept on hand to assist Bella. After the third day of Bella not telling him when the pain was bad enough to require more than Ibuprofen, Carlisle had asked Jasper to monitor her physical discomfort and alert him when she was in need of the morphine.

Sitting next to her on the bed, Esme brushed the backs of her fingers down Bella's cheek and called to her softly. She whimpered again in her sleep and Esme's brow furrowed at the way her breath sounded. Bella's breathing sounded harsh, stunted and Esme wondered if it was more than just her nightmare causing the roughness in her breathing.

"Bella," Esme called to her again, louder this time and leaned over to kiss the girl's brow when her eyes fluttered open. "Sweetheart?" she asked at the pained grimace that greeted her.

Esme's hand moved down over Bella's arm, rubbing her shoulder before brushing against the girl's side. Bella's eyes flew open wide, her jaw clenching tightly as a breathless pained groan sounded from her.

"Bella?" Esme's soft voice was alarmed at her reaction and when Bella's eyes squeezed closed, her face contorting in pain, she turned toward the door. "Carlisle!"

There was barely any sound on the stairs. It only took seconds before the doorway was filled with her husband, Edward and Jasper. Grunting against the physical sensations that came from the girl lying in the bed, Jasper projected them to Carlisle knowing that she needed more than just another dose of morphine.

"Help me sit her up," Carlisle spoke softly to Esme able to feel the phantom burning in his lungs and the nearly unbearable pain that radiated through his chest and ribs. "Shh, it's going to be just fine, Bella," he soothed, helping her to lean against Esme as he sat behind her on the bed. "Hold her carefully, keep her back as straight as possible," he instructed Esme softly before nodding to Jasper and breathing a silent sigh of relief when the southern vampire ceased his projection of Bella's pain. "Take a deep breath for me, Bella. That's it," he praised her gently and rubbed her shoulder. "One more time," he instructed, able to hear the soft bubbling sound.

Edward reached into the black leather bag, pulling out the supplies needed as soon as Carlisle thought of them. He hated the sight of the long intravenous needle attached to the overly large syringe and ground his teeth together as he handed it to his father. He listened to Carlisle as he soothed Bella with his words and the reassuring tone of his voice. Lifting the back of her sleep shirt up and instructing Esme to hold the garment in place, he cast his eyes to Jasper watching as the younger vampire moved immediately to sit at Bella's side and closed his eyes as he blocked the sensation of the needle penetrating her back.

Carlisle worked quickly and carefully as he drained the bit of fluid that had gathered in Bella's lungs and capped the syringe. Handing it to Edward, he instructed his son to save the fluid so that he could test it and asked Bella once more to breathe in deeply. Unable to hide the pained grimace as she did so, Bella hissed sharply when his cold hands gently probed her ribs. They weren't broken, but they were now showing the more painful signs of being badly bruised. He had wrapped them the first night, but had removed the wrapping when he had taken her in for the x-rays days ago. She hadn't complained of any pains and this was the first time Jasper had allowed him to feel the full extent of Bella's injuries.

"I'm going to wrap your ribs again, Bella," he told her as Esme lifted her sleep shirt higher until it was gathered just below her arms. Dipping his head down to kiss her hair, Carlisle wound the ACE bandage around her ribs, overlapping the stretchy medical wrap layer by layer from her chest to just above her waist. "There you go," he soothed after attaching the three metal clasps in place.

"I don't need that," she protested softly when he asked Edward for the morphine.

"Yes, you do," he stated, his gentle voice leaving no room for argument as he moved and guided her carefully to lie back on the pillows. "Hush," he quieted her protest as he injected her arm with the opiate. "Bella, you can't sleep, eat or even breathe comfortably with the amount if pain that you're in. The morphine helps with that. If you're worried about becoming dependant, don't. I'm having Jasper monitor you carefully. Stop that," he scolded when she glared at Jasper. "If you would tell me when your pain was more severe, I wouldn't have to have him monitor you, but you won't. You're a rather argumentative patient," he told her with some amusement.

"I don't like how groggy it makes me feel," she said, her eyes blinking tiredly as the drug took affect.

"You need your sleep, Isabella," he said, his lips quirking when she narrowed her eyes at his use of her full name.

"How's Charlie?" Bella asked as he tucked the blankets back around her shoulders. "Carlisle?" her voice shook at the pained expression he wasn't able to hide. "How's Charlie?" she repeated, her eyes wide and voice trembling.

:::::

"I'm not tired," the five year-old protested even as her eyes drooped heavily.

"Oh, yes you are," Alice said, watching the young girl fighting sleep while bouncing on the bed where she sat. "Bellaniece, you stop that," she said trying to hide the amusement in her face and voice.

"Emmett's 'pose to tell me a story," she said with a pout, her blue eyes wide.

_Oh no, not that face. Emmett, I hate you,_ Alice thought as the little girl upped the pout with a sniffle. _This is not fair! Hmm, I wonder if it would work on Jasper._ Breathing out softly as she walked slowly with a slightly bouncing step, she prayed that the infant in her arms would sleep through the night. He knew instinctively that his mother wasn't with him, wasn't alive and he was constantly crying when he wasn't being fed. The formula smelled horrendous and she wondered how he could stand it, of course Emmett in his infinite curiosity had decided to taste the formula the first night after he had prepared the bottle to feed the child with. Bella and Alice had laughed at the face he had made and Alice had smirked at him anytime he went to feed the baby.

"Emmett needed to go get something to eat, Sweetheart," Alice told her and encouraged her to get under the covers.

"Why? There's macaroni and cheese in the fridge," she said pointing to the small dorm fridge that sat in the corner of the hotel room.

"That's for you, Bella. Emmett needed different kind of food," she said and closed her eyes in relief when she saw Emmett moving back to the hotel from the woods surrounding them.

"What kind of food?" Bella asked a moment later, her brow furrowing. "I coulda shared my pie with him."

"Pie?" Emmett's voice sounded from the doorway as he stepped into the room and shut the door.

"Emmett!" she shouted and bolted from the bed, running straight into his arms and waking her brother in the process. "He's noisy," she said, pointing at her brother who was once more crying in Alice's arms.

'I hate you,' she mouthed at her brother to which the infuriating behemoth just laughed. Tossing Bella into the air before catching her and sitting her on his hip, he walked to the bed and tucked her under the covers. She giggled when he tucked the blankets tight around her effectively pinning her in place on the bed and smacked a loud kiss on her forehead.

"Alright, now where were we?" he asked and looked to Alice who was bounce-walking the baby around the room.

"The brave knight, Jasper was facing down the dragon named Rose," she reminded him to which Alice snorted in amusement.

"Ah yes," he said and flopped down to lay beside her on the bed. Turning on his side and propping his elbow on the pillow and resting his temple on his fist, he looked down into her ice blue eyes. "The pink dragon named Rose flew high in the sky, roaring and screeching before diving toward the brave knight, Jasper as he stood tall on the parapets with his sword held high."

Alice tuned out the rest of his bedtime story, knowing that if she started laughing there was no way that either the infant in her arms nor his sister would fall asleep. She could just see the kind of hell the blonde would bring against her husband if she found out that she was starring as the temperamental dragon in his bedtime story to the child. Shaking her head in amusement and cooing down at the baby in her arms, she watched him blink slowly before finally drifting off to sleep.

"Finally," she whispered in relief and looked over to see that Bella had fallen asleep as well.

"Here, give the little guy to me," Emmett said as he walked toward her. "You need to hunt, too."

Passing the baby to him, she watched as Emmett moved to sit in the overly large overstuffed recliner, the baby cradled in his arms. Her eyes softened at the sight of him curled up with the baby in his arms, his eyes fixed on the baby's sleeping face. He was so careful, so gentle with the children, playful and comforting of little Bella, painfully gentle and protective of the baby held in his arms. She had a feeling that had he not been attacked by that bear, had he not been made a vampire, he would've married and had a house full of children. Unlike Rosalie, he didn't care that these children weren't his by blood, he was simply happy to care for them and protect them in whatever capacity that he was able to.

"I know," she said quietly and Emmett looked up, his brow furrowing in question of her words. "I could see you standing inside a room holding adoption papers. I know you'd be happy to be a father, but do you think that Rose would be happy with a baby that wasn't hers?"

"I don't know," he sighed and shook his head. "I just know that after taking care of these two…"

Alice nodded with a smile and stepped toward him. Kissing her brother's forehead she smiled down at the sleeping baby in his arms.

"You make a wonderful father," she praised before leaving the room to hunt.

:::::

"Jasper," Carlisle looked at the blonde vampire and waited for him to follow before stepping into the kitchen. "Emotionally, how is she doing?"

Jasper released a deep breath as he thought about the question. Bella had fallen asleep before Carlisle had been able to answer her question about Charlie and for that he, as well as the other three, had been thankful. He watched as Carlisle took out a pot and set about creating a base of homemade pulled beef stew. Bella wasn't eating nearly as much as she needed to and that had them all worried.

"It's difficult to say," Jasper said after a long moment of silence and handed the plastic packets of fresh basil and oregano to Carlisle. "She's continuously fluctuating between a sense of numbness, small short lived panic attacks, and a confusing combination of fear, rage and grief that's almost too strong to bear. The more she tries to control her emotions and to swallow her grief, the longer her panic attacks become and the more violent her nightmares."

Carlisle nodded as he swept the chopped herbs from the plastic cutting board into the pot with the knife and added a small dollop of olive oil.

"And Edward?" he asked, peeling a sweet yellow onion.

Jasper watched as he diced the onion with careful precision, sweeping it into the simmering pot as well before starting in on four cloves of garlic.

"He's worried for Bella, but he's no longer afraid of her. He doesn't fear holding her; however her panic attacks make him increasingly uncomfortable. I believe his discomfort stems more from not knowing what to do than anything else."

Carlisle was quiet as he stirred the sautéing herbs and vegetables in the pot with a flat wooden spatula. He understood Edward's discomfort, he felt it too, but as a doctor he had far more experience with coaching patients out of panicked states. Turning to the refrigerator he removed a packet of beef bones and peeled back the plastic film before placing them in the pot and adding just enough water to cover them. Covering the pot tightly with a silver lid, he set the burner to simmer and leaned back against the sink behind the stove. Crossing his arms over his chest he looked up at Jasper.

"And how are you doing with all of this?"

Jasper raised his brows and lowered them just as quickly in a facial expression of a shrug. How was he doing with all of this? Jasper shook his head; he hadn't stopped to think about that before and told Carlisle as much. The only thing he really knew was that he needed to hunt more frequently. The more blood he had in his system, the easier it was to control his reaction to Bella's whirlwind of emotions.

"Perhaps you should take a few days, go visit Alice and Emmett in Seattle?" Carlisle suggested and moved back to the stove, checking on the broth that he was making.

"I'm almost afraid to do that," Jasper said, handing him the carrots when he requested them. "The force of her emotions, the increasing strength of her panic attacks, I don't want to leave her alone."

"She's hardly alone," Carlisle said wisely and wrinkled his nose as he looked down into the simmering pot. "I'm not sure if this smells right, cooking is not as easy for one of our kind to learn by scent as it is for humans." Jasper huffed in amusement and Carlisle looked up at him with a crooked smile before adding the chopped carrots and replacing the lid. "Beside that Jasper, you cannot influence her emotions forever. Not if she is to heal from this."

"I know that, I do," he said and shook his head.

"You're just worried." Carlisle nodded knowingly. "These things take time, Jasper. Go, take a few days. Give yourself a breather," he arched a blonde brow at Jasper's grin of amusement. "You know what I mean. See if you can't help Alice with little Bella's brother."

"An infant?" Jasper asked drily, leveling Carlisle with a look that questioned the man's sanity. "Carlisle, I may be good, but I'm not that good. I doubt there's anyone alive or of our kind," he amended at the amused twitch of the doctor's lips, "who can possibly control an infant's emotions."

"It's not about controlling," Carlisle said with amusement. "As any parent will tell you, it's simply about making the infant feel safe."

Jasper rolled his eyes and shook his head before turning to leave the kitchen. "An infant," he mumbled to himself ignoring the feel of Carlisle's amusement that followed him through the house.

He made his way silently up the stairs and offered Esme a smile as he passed her in the hall. Stepping into Edward's room, he looked down at the sleeping girl in the bed. Sitting down on the bed, opposite to where Edward lay, he touched Bella's shoulder and watched silently as her eyes fluttered open. Bending down and kissing her cheek, he told her that he would be traveling to Seattle for a few days, promising to call her at least twice a day.

Edward kept his eyes closed, listening to the conversation and Jasper's thoughts as his brother spoke with Bella. Smirking when he made her promise to ask Carlisle for morphine when she needed it while he was gone; Edward rolled his eyes beneath his closed lids. He knew that Bella was only agreeing for Jasper's benefit and his brother's thoughts made it clear that he knew it as well. Opening his eyes when Bella moved, he helped her to sit up so that she could hug Jasper as she wanted to.

Edward watched as Jasper kept his arms wrapped around Bella and laid her back on the pillows before kissing her brow and standing. _Call me if she needs me_, Jasper thought to Edward as he looked at his brother. Nodding and watching Jasper leave the room, he kept still as Bella moved with some difficulty and curled back against his side. He knew that her ribs were in a great deal of pain, but she had insisted repeatedly that she was fine when she rolled onto her side to sleep with her head on his chest. He had tried lying on his side and curling his body around hers so that she could lie flat, but Bella wouldn't have it.

Listening to her heartbeat slow and her breaths even out, Edward moved his hand from where it rested on her hip to gently comb through the ends of her hair. Turning his head, he pressed a cool kiss to her brow and closed his eyes with his nose buried in her hair. _Sleep well, my love._


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Emmett?"

Setting down the sports page he'd been reading, Emmett stood and walked over to the bed where little Bella was sitting, her legs dangling over the side as her hand picked at a loose string on the comforter. The expression on her face was a curious one, and he wondered just what it was that she was thinking. Looking up when he heard the door open, he saw Jasper enter the room and kiss Alice on the cheek as she walked with the sleeping infant in her arms. The tiny newborn boy would only sleep if someone was holding him; the few times either he or Alice had tried to lay him down once he was asleep he immediately woke up and started screaming. Catching the soft gasp from Alice and seeing the infinitely sad expression on her face, her attention focused on Bella, Emmett returned his attention to the child at his side.

"What's up, Little One?" he asked as Jasper pulled out a chair from the table and sat facing them.

"You said that my mommy couldn't come with us from the hospital because she died, right?" Bella asked looking up at Emmett.

"That's right, Little B," Emmett said, nodding once and pressing his lips into a thin line as he waited for her to continue.

"What's 'died' mean? Does she have to stay with the doctors for awhile? Will she come home later?"

Emmett stilled; breath he didn't need catching in his throat. He had thought that she was handling the news fairly well; he had never realized that she hadn't understood it. Looking at first Alice and then Jasper, he opened and closed his mouth a few times not knowing how to answer the child's question. What was he supposed to say? How do you explain death, especially the death of a parent, to a child her age?

"Hi, Sweetheart," Jasper said softly and moved his chair a little bit closer to the bed. "I'm Jasper."

Looking up at the new person through the thick fringe of her lashes, Bella scooted closer to Emmett, halfway hiding behind his arm. Her shyness was adorable, her porcelain cheeks coloring with just a hint of a pale blush. Her short arms were wrapped around Emmett's arm just above his elbow and she peeked out at Jasper through the space between his arm and side.

"Are you the brave knight?" she asked after a long moment.

"Am I the what?" Jasper asked and felt Alice's amusement.

"Emmett told me a story about the brave knight, Jasper who slays the mean dragon R-"

Emmett's hand was suddenly covering her mouth and the girl turned her head to look up at him with wide innocent eyes. Blinking up at him owlishly, she watched as his lips twitched. He wouldn't meet her eyes, choosing to look at the wall across the room instead. Turning her attention on Jasper when he began laughing outright, she watched as Alice spoke with her face near his ear, too low for her to hear the words.

"Oh, son, that's priceless," Jasper said, his southern drawl thick in his amusement. "You have to let me tell Rose that story."

"I'd like to keep my boys, thank you," Emmett responded and Jasper laughed at the completely confused look on Bella's face. "Bella," Emmett turned his face down to look at the child and brought her to sit in his lap as he hugged her close. "About your question, honey…"

Emmett did his level best to explain to her what 'died' meant, Jasper interjecting here and there in his attempt to help. After nearly an hour of explaining the term and answering her many questions, Bella bit her lips and heaved a big sigh through her nose as she shrugged her shoulders exaggeratedly. Looking at Alice, the child furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"I don't get it," she said after a long moment. "Mommy's not coming back anymore. I'll never see her again?"

"No, Sweetheart," Alice said as she knelt in front of the girl, cradling the infant in the curve of one arm and brushing Bella's hair behind her ear with her free hand. "I'm sorry, but you won't."

"What about Daddy?"

"You remember the dark haired lady and her husband from the hospital?" Alice asked and nodded her thanks when Jasper took the infant from her arms.

"Your Auntie Karen?" Bella asked and held her arms out to Alice.

Lifting the diminutive child from her brother's lap and sitting cross legged on the floor, Alice held her in her lap.

"Carmen," she corrected the tiny girl with a nod. "Carmen and her husband Eleazar are staying at the hospital to watch over your father. The doctors have to do a lot of surgeries," pursing her lips and thinking of a better way to explain the medical term to the child, Alice tried for something a bit abstract. "Have you ever put a puzzle together before?"

Bella nodded excitedly. "I like puzzles. Mommy and I used to work on the ones that had lots and lots of tiny pieces. We'd make pictures of unicorns and faeries and flowers."

Alice nodded. "Ok. Well, when your father fell and hurt himself, his legs became like pieces of a puzzle and the doctors have to put him back together again. It's going to take them a long time to do that because it's a much tougher puzzle to work on."

Brows drawing together in a serious expression, Bellaniece looked up at her and then at Emmett.

"When Mommy and I wanted a puzzle to stay together for a long time and put it in a frame we used glue. Will the doctors super glue Daddy back together?"

Coughing behind a well placed fist, Alice hid her laugh. "I don't think that they'll use super glue, per say, but you could always ask Papa Carlisle that question."

As soon as the subject of her parents had begun, Bella let it go and stood from Alice's lap to stand in front of Jasper and look down at her sleeping brother held in his arms. Tipping her head to the side she looked curiously at the baby. His skin was still slightly red, the infant only four days old. She didn't know what to make of the baby.

"When can I play with him?" she asked Jasper and he smiled down at her.

"Not for awhile, Bella," he answered and held the child in one arm and off to his side. "Come here," he said and tugged her to sit up on his knee. "He's sleeping, and still pretty small, but I can help you hold him if you'd like."

She nodded excitedly and bit her lip as he cautioned her to be careful and gentle. Instructing the child how to hold her arms, Jasper slowly laid the infant in the cradle she made and curled one arm underneath hers to support the baby. The emotions of a child were so pure that he felt as though he were experiencing the world in a completely new way. Her wonder of the baby held in her arms filled his being and he found himself completely entranced with her emotions.

Emmett watched from his seat on the bed as Alice moved to stand behind Jasper, her hands on his shoulders as she looked down lovingly at her husband and the children in his lap. Shaking his head, his face a mask of amusement and love, he withdrew his phone from his pocket and took a few pictures of the family portrait before sending them straight to Esme's phone. Not a moment later his phone buzzed to life and he answered the call holding the device to his ear.

"They're absolutely beautiful," Esme gushed, her voice thick with emotion. "Thank you for those pictures, Emmett."

"Sure thing," he said with a smile before he turned serious, his smile fading as he stood and moved to the balcony doors. "Esme, I don't know what to do."

"About what, Emmett?" she asked, her voice warm and maternal.

Leaning against the wall and looking out at the unusually sunny day, Emmett sighed and glanced back at the girl sitting on his brother's knee.

"Little Bella. I thought she was taking everything pretty well and then a little while ago she asked me what 'died' meant. I thought she understood. Jasper and Alice and I spent the past hour trying to explain it to her, but I still don't think she understands."

Esme sighed into the phone and was quiet for a few moments before speaking. When she did, her words were both comforting and wise.

"She may not truly understand for awhile, dear. It may be a few more days or even weeks before she truly understands that she won't be seeing her mother anymore. Carlisle's been arranging for a funeral and we'll take her, and try to take her father, to it, but even then she may not understand. Death is a very foreign concept for most children. All you can really do is be there for her when she does finally understand and help her grieve."

"Will that really be enough?" he asked as he watched silver grey clouds begin to cover the sky as rain began to drizzle down.

"What more can you do?"

Emmett snorted and nodded. "You're pretty good at this mother thing. Ever thought of adopting?" he joked and she laughed. "Oh, by the way, Little Bella has a question for her 'Papa Carlisle'."

"Does she?" Esme asked and he could hear her footsteps as she moved through the house. "Well, it looks like he finally took my advice and went hunting. It might be awhile before he's back. If you'd like I could pass the question along to him."

"Fair enough. She asked, and I quote, 'Will the doctors super glue Daddy back together?'"

Esme was quiet for a moment and just when he began to wonder if she'd hung up, he heard her begin to laugh. Her soft laughter grew louder and he smiled at the sound. He hadn't realized how much he missed being near his adoptive mother until he heard her laughter and suddenly all he wanted to do was hug her.

"Esme?"

"Hm?"

"Do we stay here until her father is completely out of surgery? When do we bring the kids home?" he asked and heard her soft intake and exhale of breath as she considered the questions.

"I think, right now, we just kind of play it by ear. Stay a few more days in Seattle, if in three days, he still in surgeries, than I would advise bringing the children home. Rosalie came back this morning and has been helping me assemble the baby furniture that arrived yesterday. We're turning one of the spare bedrooms into a nursery."

"How's Rose doing?" Emmett asked, and felt the sudden need to hear his love's voice.

"Why don't you ask her?" Esme said and he heard the muffled sounds as the phone switched hands.

"Em?" Rosalie's voice was soft, if not a bit sad. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch."

Sighing as his lips turned up in that lopsided smile she always loved, he ducked his head.

"You know, Rose, you never really did work through all that stuff that happened to you," his voice was soft and understanding. "I know it's not really such an option to talk to a counselor, but maybe you should. Even if it's just to me or Esme or one of us."

She laughed, though he could hear the distinct sound of a sniffle mixed in.

"Why do you think it took so long for me to come back home?" she asked him. "Kate and Tanya wouldn't let me leave until I had talked through everything with them. I guess you could call it an impromptu intervention slash counseling session. I don't know that I'm completely better or healed or whatever, but I do know that I'm in a better place than I was before… Emmett?"

"Yes, my love."

"Could you send me pictures of the kids? I want to see them."

"You'll have them in moments," he promised. "I love you, Rose."

"I love you, too, my monkey man."

He chuckled at her favorite nickname for him. They spoke for a few more minutes before he hung up with her and immediately sent her every picture that he had taken of Bella and her brother, including a few snapshots that Alice had taken with her phone and sent to him. His favorite by far, was a picture that Alice had taken of him lying with his eyes closed on the hotel bed, Bella tucked against his side and the infant sprawled across his chest. Smiling as he moved to the table and picked up the room service menu, he tucked the laminated book beneath his arm and frowned in thought.

Opening his phone and scrolling through his contact for the number of a person he hadn't spoken to in nearly three years, Emmett held the device to his ear and waited for Jonny Mack to pick up. His words were soft in an effort not to disturb the conversation Bella was having with Jasper about knights and dragons, and he waited quietly for the vampire on the other end of the line to search through his inventory list.

"Well, Emmett, I've got two things that might fit the bill for what you're looking for. I've got the frame and most of the stock parts for a 1966 Indian Chief. I've also got the frame and body, in fairly decent condition, for a 1969 Pontiac Judge. Which one do you want?"

Emmett considered the options for a few moments, before shrugging to himself and tapping the menu against his thigh.

"You know what, Mack, have both delivered to the house in Forks. You've still got my card on file, yeah?"

"Sure do, Cullen. Your girl better enjoy these pieces. I haven't had any in this good a condition in a while."

"Oh, she will. It'll give her something to do. Thanks, Mack."

"Anytime, old man. Peace."

The call disconnected and he turned around to be greeted by a smiling Alice. She nodded her approval of his presents for Rosalie and held her hand out for the room service menu. Walking over and handing her the book, he turned his attention on Jasper, his expression playfully mulish.

"Whitlock, you stealing both my kids now?" he asked feigning displeasure.

"What can I say, Emmett, I'm irresistible," Jasper drawled smiling up at the man with a grin.

"Gimme my boy back, old timer," he said reaching for the baby and accepting the infant from his chuckling brother.

"What about your girl?" Jasper asked looking at Bella and Alice.

"You're in for a treat, Jazz. You're about to witness the most epic of battles. Little Bella loves ice cream and cookies and pie and macaroni and cheese. Alice, here, is about to try and convince her to expand her culinary horizons and talk her out of the sugar buffet she always begs for."

Blond eyebrows climbing high on his forehead, Jasper turned his attention back on his wife and the child she was sitting with. Sure enough Bella was pointing to a picture of a chocolate lover's sundae and Alice was trying to talk to her about the merits of eating vegetables and fruit. He shook his head as he listened to Bella try to convince Alice that Macaroni and Cheese and chocolate cake was a healthy dinner. No way would the child be winning that argument.

**:::::**

"Hey," Bella's voice was rasping and rough when she greeted the woman standing near the foot of her bed. "Where have you been?"

"I had some demons that I needed to work out," Rosalie said as she moved to sit in the chair beside the bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked and arched a brow at the girl's undignified snort.

"Are you Carlisle's newest spy?" Bella asked, grimacing as she tried to sit up.

"I will have you know that I'm no one's spy, little girl," Rosalie huffed and watched Bella laugh and groan in pain.

Struggling to sit up against the stack of pillows behind her, Bella shrugged. "Apparently only my wrist is broken," she said holding up her casted arm. "But I swear it feels like everything is broken. I just want to know who drive the truck," she joked.

"That would be you," Rosalie said haughtily. "I've told you before that your driving leaves a lot to be desired."

"Hey!" Bella shot back and stuck out her tongue at the blonde's arched brow.

"You're not upsetting my patient are you, Rosalie?" Carlisle asked as he stepped into the room.

"She's insulting my driving skills. Again," Bella answered and saw Carlisle chuckle.

"Considering…" he said and laughed at the comical expression of outrage on Bella's face. "Are you in pain?" he asked her seriously only to be met with a look somewhere between annoyance and exhaustion.

"…Yes," she grumbled after a moment and he blinked at her in surprise. "But I don't want any of that morphine. It's kind of nice being awake and coherent for a little while."

"Well then," Carlisle nodded decisively. "You're in luck. Dinner's ready and you need to eat," he told her with a pointed stare.

"What?" Bella asked. "I've been eating, I haven't refused to eat."

"Perhaps not, but you haven't been eating nearly enough to keep your strength up." Looking at his newly returned daughter with an expression that clearly stated 'you talk to her', Carlisle turned to the door. "Edward will be up shortly to bring you downstairs. No, you are not walking," he told her before she could say anything. "Your ankles and knees are still a bit swollen and I want you staying off your feet until the swelling goes down completely and you're able to move them without pain."

Walking out the door before she could rebuff his commands, Bella's teeth clacked together when she snapped her open mouth shut. Turning to Rosalie, she sighed, the sound mixed with an almost growl.

"They treat me like an invalid," she groused.

"Have you looked in a mirror recently?" Rosalie countered, her voice challenging.

"Ok, so I'm a little banged up."

"Bella!" Rosalie shook her head before looking at the girl with a rather serious stare. "You really haven't looked in a mirror, have you?"

"Kind of hard to do that when I'm carried in and out of the bathroom and no one lets me stand on my own feet."

Nodding and pressing her lips together, Rosalie helped Bella to her feet, and guided her slowly to the closet. Opening the door, she stood the girl in front of the full length mirror and held gently onto her waist to keep her from falling. Bella's horrified gasp was evidence enough that she hadn't seen her reflection and Rosalie let her stare into the glass for a moment longer before helping her back to the bed.

"Do you think they'll scar?" Bella asked in regards to the healing cuts on her face that had been made by the automotive glass.

"It's doubtful. They're fairly superficial, just kind of scattered everywhere. The bruising and slight swelling should lessen in the next couple of days. Until then, you're just going to look like someone's favorite punching bag. Your ribs are wrapped, huh?" she asked having felt the stiffness beneath the overly large sleep shirt the girl was wearing.

"Yeah, they're still pretty sore. Carlisle said they were bruised and my chest, well… The truck's too old for an airbag and the steering wheel kept me from going through the windshield when I hit the tree."

Eyebrows raised in question and reproach, Rosalie leveled a look at her, for now human, sister. "And where was your seat belt?"

"I wasn't exactly thinking about safety when I got the call, just about getting there as fast as I could."

Sitting back against the chair and sighing sadly, Rosalie's expression softened. "How are doing?"

Bella opened her mouth to give her usual response of 'I'm fine', but drew in a shaking breath instead and sniffled. She shook her head and felt tear sting behind her eyes.

"I don't know," she answered honestly after a long moment. "Most of the time it doesn't feel real. It feels like something that I watched happen instead of something that happened to me. And then there are times when it feels too real and I kind of panic." Looking down at her hands and picking at the blue cast wrapped around her arm, Bella's lips trembled as she fought not to cry. "And then there are the nightmares."

Rosalie nodded and moved from the chair to sit next to Bella on the bed. "I pretty much went through the same thing for months after Carlisle had changed me," she told Bella. "I'm just glad Edward was strong and rational enough to work everything out with Jasper after your birthday party. I don't know if he told you or not, but he'd been planning to leave Forks. He wanted all of us to leave. If we had and we weren't here when this happened…" Rosalie let her voice trail off and looked down at Bella.

"And I have you to thank for that," Edward said, his voice thick as he walked into the room. "I don't think I've ever received such a thorough verbal bitch slapping before."

Bella laughed at the sound of those words coming from Edward and shook her head. It was rare that she ever heard him curse and to hear him say the word bitch was almost comical. He wasn't a prude by any means, but raised in a different time, he definitely had different views on certain derogatory terms for women.

"You are my life, Bella," he said moving to sit by her side as Rosalie stood and stepped away from the bed. "If I had lost you…"

"But you didn't," Bella said, a single tear falling over her cheek as she looked up at him. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Certainly not looking like Mary Frankenstein," she said in an effort to lighten the mood.

Edward laughed and kissed her lips chastely before tucking his arms around her back and under her knees. Lifting her to sit in his lap before standing and cradling her against his chest, he ducked his head and kissed her brow.

"I love you. Monster cuts, neck bolts and all," he teased receiving her laughter in return.

"Neck bolts," Rosalie mused as she led the way down stairs. "We could put a few of those in. Maybe add some wires leading to a light bulb on top of your head."

"Oh haha, very funny," Bella grumbled and breathed in deeply of the beef stew, blushing when her stomach growled loudly.

"We need to feed that monster," Edward told her with a laugh.

**:::::**

Holding her hand out for her ringing phone, Bella curled against Edward's chest and held the device to her ear. Blinking heavily as she talked to Jasper and Emmett in turn for a few moments, she put the call on speaker and laid the phone on Edward's stomach as Emmett began his nightly routine of telling her stories from his human life about his sisters and the world he had lived in. He told her about the thickness of the forests, the cleanness of the air, the way he would build things with his bare hands. She listened for as long as she could before finally giving in to the sleep that beckoned her and Edward lifted the phone, taking it off speaker and talking with his brother for a few moments longer.

There were times when he was jealous of Emmett's nightly routine of telling Bella what were essentially bedtime stories. Even though he was the one holding her, it was Emmett who soothed her to sleep with the sound of his voice. It was Emmett who she wanted to tell her stories at the moments before she fell asleep. Rosalie looked at Edward and shook her head in silent amusement. She didn't need Jasper's talent for reading emotions or Edward's telepathy to understand what he was feeling. It was written all over his face.

"She loves her big brother," Rosalie said, reminding him of the familial bonds and why he shouldn't be jealous. "Emmett's my mate, but he's also her big brother set on protecting his newest little sister. She won't have much longer as a human. Let them have these moments."

"And when did you get so wise?" Edward asked with a crooked smile.

"Alaskan Reindeer. Wisdom is in their blood." She answered with a straight face.

"Dork."

Smiling and shaking her head, Rosalie stood and left the room. She was glad to be home, glad to have worked out the bigger of her demons before they ruined anything. Walking into the nursery, she looked at the crib and changing table. There were packages of newborn diapers as well as cloth diapers and fasteners in the open area beneath the changing table. The mobile assembled above the crib held stuffed animals with bells on them so that if the baby were to swat at them they'd make noise.

No, the baby that was coming to live them wasn't hers by birth, but it would be a part of their family. She had always thought that she was upset that she couldn't have a baby of her own, but as the prospect of having a baby in the house grew a little more real in her mind, she came to understand that it didn't matter if the baby was hers; it was still a child in need of love and family. Smiling as she ran her hand over the black and red accented crib, she breathed in deeply. She couldn't wait to hold that baby in her arms or to meet that little girl. The one thing she had always wanted was now going to be a part of their family.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

People were calling to her, but she didn't understand their words. Their voices were distorted and sounded far away as though she was hearing them from underwater. She felt lead weighted, her body refusing to move and a strange buzzing filled her ears. Her eyes looked without seeing; shapes colors and figures making no sense to her. She couldn't breathe even though she could feel her lungs expanding and contracting as she panted. Thoughts wouldn't form in her mind. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't feel anything around her below her and the strange dark fog that was surrounding her vision filled in to blind her completely as consciousness escaped her.

"Bella!" Carlisle shot forward, catching her as she fell.

Carlisle lifted Bella into his arms, cradling her unconscious form against his chest as he moved to sit down in the black metal folding chair that was off to the side. It had been a week since he had informed her of her father's death and he had thought that she had taken the news fairly well, until now. He had brought her to the small room inside the funeral home that was reserved for private viewings so that she could see her father alone before the actual funeral began. He had stood back, letting her walk up to the open casket alone, while Edward had gone to speak with Jacob Black outside.

Esme had stood at his side, her arm wrapped around his waist from behind as they watched Bella walk up to the casket. Her hands lifted to grip the sides of the polished wood and when she tipped her head down to look inside she started to scream. Her voice wasn't very loud, the scream was breathy and harsh as though she could get her voice to work properly, the word 'no' being the only thing she spoke as she hyperventilated and her heart beat a mad staccato rhythm in her chest. It was mere seconds from the time she looked down into the coffin to when she collapsed, but to Carlisle it felt like an eternity.

Looking up from the girl cradled in his arms, he met Esme's eyes, her hand on his shoulder. The same look of grief and worry that clouded Esme's eyes was mirrored in his own. The door of the room opened quietly, the sound of the wood shifting and the metal of the hinges grinding against itself too soft for human ears to detect. Edward stood in the doorway, Rosalie by his side as they both stared across the room at Bella. Carlisle was holding her in a wholly protective and possessive manner as though he was daring someone to try and take her away from him.

"Carlisle?" Edward's voice was soft, if not a bit rough, as he stepped closer.

"I don't think she believed me," Carlisle said, his voice pained. "I don't know that she would've believed anyone, but when she saw Charlie…"

"Will she be able to handle this today?" Rosalie asked as she stepped further into the small room and closed the door. "It's not just Charlie's funeral, but Renee's and Phil's as well. Should we take her home?"

Esme shook her head, her eyes cast down on Bella's sleeping face. "She needs the closure," she spoke wisely.

Edward moved closer and knelt in front of his father, his hand brushing Bella's hair back from her face as she stirred slowly. Her brown eyes fluttered open slowly and she lay still for a moment as she came to full awareness. The first person her eyes saw was Carlisle and he watched her brows furrow as though she didn't understand what was happening. She blinked and looked to the side, her eyes catching Edward's as he reached out and took hold of her hand. Her confusion lasted a moment longer until her eyes scanned through the distance between Rosalie and Esme and she saw the mahogany coffin standing silent against the far wall.

"No," Bella shook her head, the word a combination of a moan and sob as she stared in disbelief at the elegant wooden box that held her father's corpse. "No, no no no NO!"

She wanted to run away, she had to leave, this couldn't be real. Her father couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be. Bella shook her head, struggled against Carlisle's iron hold that was as gentle as it was impenetrable. He had told her a few days ago that Charlie was dead, but she hadn't believed it, hadn't accepted that ugly truth. Now that she had seen his body lying immobile and lifeless inside the coffin everything came to a terrifying and screeching reality. Her mother was dead, her step father was dead and now, so too was her father. In a period of time too short to be true, she had lost everything. She knew that she still had Edward and the family she had found in the Cullens, but her heart demanded to know why. What had she done so wrong as to be robbed of her human parents? What being, what deity thought that this was acceptable?

"Bella, Sweetheart, stop," Carlisle said as she struggled in his hold.

"No! No! Why?" she sobbed madly, struggling to be freed.

Her struggles changed. Instead of trying to break Carlisle's hold she had turned against him and began beating against his chest with her fisted hands. He barely felt the hits, her human strength weakened by her grief. He cupped the back of her head with one hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around her back as he held her tightly to him. Her tears were fast and hot, filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks in burning rivulets as she cried. Her hands stopped beating against him, twisting instead in the fabric of his shirt as she pressed her face against his chest.

Carlisle's face was a mask of concern, compassion, and grief as he held Bella tightly in his arms and rocked her slowly on his lap. Her sobs were deep, painful, tearing from her as though she were being physically wounded and the blonde doctor would've given anything to have taken her pain away. Her grief was a palpable thing. The scent of her tears, the sounds of her aching sobs, racing heart and shuddering breaths; she was his daughter, his son's mate and there was very little that he could do to comfort her. Everything that had happened: hearing her mother's last breaths over the phone, seeing her mother and step father's dead and mangled bodies, nearly dying herself while trying to get to her mother and then to the safety that Carlisle offered her, being told that her father was dead; all of it had come to a very startling reality at neck break speed when she had looked into the coffin and seen her father's lifeless body.

Carlisle's eyes met Edward's over Bella's head and he knew then that his son wanting nothing more than to take his love away from the horror this day would bring her. He also knew that his son was reading his thoughts and that his and Esme's firm belief that Bella needed the closure this day would bring was the only thing staying his hand. Carlisle looked down when the girl in his arms grew quiet, her grip on his shirt growing tighter. He couldn't see her face for the way she had it buried against his chest, but he knew she wasn't asleep.

"Oh, baby girl," Carlisle's refined smooth voice held a note of mourning as he hugged her closer. "I'm so sorry."

"He was supposed to walk me down the isle," she whimpered, her voice trembling and soggy with her tears.

"I know, I know," he told her softly as he rubbed her back slowly. "Bella," he waited for her to raise her face and look into his eyes. "How are your ribs?" he asked worried that her upset may have left her in pain.

Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him and she bit her lip as she sniffled. She didn't understand the question, it seemed out of place and she shook her head to signal her confusion. He tucked her hair behind one ear and kissed her brow before sitting her back on his knees so that he could see her torso more clearly. The black sheath dress she wore was borrowed from Esme, their sizes the most similar, and the cuffed shoulders left her arms bare. The fabric was thin, the smoothness of the silk lined with a more opaque satin to prevent the garment from being see through.

Her left side had taken the most damage from falling out of her truck and although her accident had occurred roughly ten days ago, she wasn't healing as well as he would like to see. Cupping her left casted wrist gently in his hand, he lifted her arm and rested her hand on his shoulder instructing her gently to keep it there. Watching her face carefully, he pressed the tips of his fingers over the higher ribs covered by the side of her bra down to the lower ribs of her waist. She hadn't reacted much until he touched her lower four ribs, her sharp gasp and instinctual move to cover her side with her arm telling of her pain.

"Carlisle?" Edward looked at his father in concern as he read the man's thoughts.

_She's not healing. There shouldn't still be so much pain,_ he told his son through his thoughts. _After the funerals today, I want to take another set of X-rays. I need to see why she's not healing._

Edward nodded and placed his hands on Bella's back, drawing her attention. He offered her his hand and held hers gently when she placed her palm in his as she stood. He meant to take her into the seating area when Rosalie stopped him with her thoughts and came up to her other side, ushering the girl away from her brother.

"Come on, Bella. Let's get you cleaned up a bit, ok?" Rosalie said gently and led her to the small bathroom that was just down the hall from the room they were in.

**:::::**

Bella sat stiffly in the first row between Carlisle and Edward. Her jaw was clenched tight against the emotions that were boiling beneath the surface and she focused forward, her wide eyes unable to be drawn away from the large portrait of her father in his dress police uniform. Her left hand, encased in the blue plaster cast, clutched Carlisle's hand as much as the cast allowed, her right hand lay inside Edward's palm, his thumb rubbing gently across the back of her hand in an effort to comfort her. Esme sat on Carlisle's side, Rosalie on Edward's as the four of them did their best to shield Bella from the unavoidable darkness of the proceedings.

The pastor read from the open bible in his hands, opening the ceremony with the traditional passages of remembrance and spiritual ascendance before speaking of his own experiences with Chief Swan. The clergyman spoke with reverence and pride of his fallen friend, telling of the times that Charlie had chosen to ask his assistance in offering counseling to youthful offenders instead of locking them in jail when he had the option to do so. He spoke of her father's kindness, his belief of a higher power though he held no belief in any one religion. His eyes swept over the collection of comrades and friends until his gaze came to rest on Bella. Her brown eyes lifted to meet his gaze when the pastor asked if she would like to take the podium and speak of her father.

Bella's eyes widened, her face paling as her grip on both Carlisle's and Edward's hands tightening as her breath came faster. She didn't know if she could stand up there, talk in front of everyone about her father. Her mind was still reeling; still trying it's best to accept the reality of her father's death while evading the hypnotic spinning of the denial that beckoned her. She couldn't hide behind a false believe that her father wasn't truly dead, not when his body lay less than ten feet from her in an open coffin.

"Bella," Esme's gentle voice called her attention. "Would you like for one of us to go up with you?"

"What do I say?" she asked, her breathy voice barely more than a whisper.

"Whatever you want, whatever you feel is right," Carlisle told her, his voice soft, his golden eyes offering her comfort in their compassion.

Bella's brow furrowed, she looked down at her hand held in Carlisle's and she looked up slowly, her eyes looking between both himself and Esme. She wanted them with her, surrogate parents, _her_ future in laws. But she didn't want to Edward to feel that he wasn't enough. How did she ask them without her love feel left behind? Her eyes were drawn to Edward when he lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of her hand.

"It's alright, Bella. You don't need to worry about me, your comfort is what is important here," Edward told her.

"How did you…?" her voice trailed off, her question unfinished as she stared at him. She knew he was unable to read her thoughts, but somehow he had done just that.

"Because I know you," he told her gently and released her hand, nodding to his parents.

Esme stood slowly, Carlisle following suit as he held Bella's hand and together they led her up to the podium, standing on either side as she looked down at the tall wooden desk meant to hold a book or papers. She didn't know what to say, didn't know how she was supposed to let her father go when she still needed him so much. Her chest hurt, her heart constricting with the grief and fear that twisted it. She needed her father, he had left her too soon and it wasn't fair.

"Charlie," she began, her voice barely heard despite the microphone that was angled toward her to catch her words. "He was brave. He loved baseball, a sport that I've never really understood." She looked up to Carlisle and he nodded once, letting her know that he would stand with her as long as she needed. "He kind of…hated Edward," her eyes caught his and her love smiled at her with amusement at her words and pride at her ability to speak despite the crushing grief she felt. "But that's how dads are; no one's ever good enough for their daughters."

Bella was silenced as a rough sob broke from her and before she gave it much thought, she had turned and was being held in Carlisle's arms. Esme stepped up to the microphone as her husband comforted Bella, allowing her to grieve even as he asked her softly if she wished to speak more. Esme's voice was strong, kind as she spoke of her very few interactions with Bella's father, instead telling of her gratitude for the daughter that he had brought into their lives. Carlisle moved closer, Bella still in the circle of his arms, as he too spoke of Charlie and the many conversations that they had had when he consulted for the chief.

They led Bella back to her seat, sitting with her as she gripped Edward's hand tighter than she had before, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. Jacob Black and his father, Billy, were the next ones to speak. Bella was surprised by the outward show of grief on both their faces, never having seen her best friend or his father cry before. Billy talked about their fishing trips and many times of watching sports while Jacob talked about how his father and Charlie always seemed to act like teenagers when they got together. They spoke of their favorite memories, of fish fries and football games, and how Charlie would be greatly missed by all.

It seemed to Bella that she barely had enough time to process the ending of one service before the next one began. She watched with wide eyes as her father's casket was rolled out of the room, his picture carried away before two more coffins were rolled into the room, the lids blessedly closed as portraits of Renee and Phil were placed before their respective enclosed eternal beds. There were still a few moments before the pastor would begin the ceremony for her mother and step father and Bella could feel her stomach rolling, twisting as she began shaking.

"I'm going to be sick," she whimpered.

"I've got her," Esme said quietly to her husband as she stood and led Bella out of the room.

The emotional pain manifested itself physically and Esme stood behind her in the restroom stall holding her hair back as she vomited into the toilet. Her cool hand rubbed gently over Bella's back and she could help but feel concerned. The girl hadn't eaten very much and was growing thinner because of it. No matter how many times that she and Carlisle or Edward tried to get her to eat a descent amount, Bella always stopped when she had only consumed barely half of what she was given. Bella vomited once more before wiping her mouth with toilet tissue and rising with Esme's help.

The matriarch of the Cullen family stood next to Bella, her arm wrapped around the girl's waist from behind as she offered her a paper cup to rinse her mouth. Was sitting through these ceremonies causing more harm than good for Bella? Esme's concern that Bella's already fragile concern could grow worse showed on her face and the human girl she held to her side tried to smile, but the expression came across as little more than a grimace.

"You have us, sweetheart," Esme told her, turning and wrapping Bella in a motherly hug. "You'll always have us.

"I'm scared," Bella's whispering voice whimpered. "I'm really scared, Mama."

Bella was completely unaware of her slips. She didn't know that she was replacing Esme's name with the familial moniker. All she knew was that she needed this woman now more than anything else. She needed to feel her love, the warmth of her embrace. She needed to not feel alone. It was impossible how warm Bella felt when held by members of her vampire family, the love and affection in their embraces granting her the almost burning warmth of their emotions.

Esme held Bella close, smiling despite the sorrow this day held. She knew, without anyone having to tell her, that Bella didn't know she was calling her 'Mama'. She kissed her forehead, rubbed her back before taking her hand and leading her from the small bathroom. As they walked back into the room Bella froze in place just inside the wide doorway, her eyes wide and breath catching in her throat. She couldn't breathe, the room felt too small and her heart was beating far too fast. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't feel anything.

"Bella," Edward's voice was smooth, soft, his hand on her fevered face cool and comforting. "Come back to me, love. You're safe with us, come back to me."

She blinked, once, twice, three times before her vision refocused and her gaze settled on Edward's face. Her head hurt, but she could feel her racing heart calm and as she looked away from Edward, she found that Carlisle and Rosalie were standing near her as well. It had felt to her that only a single moment had passed, but that couldn't be true if everyone was gathered around her as they were.

"What happened?" Bella asked softly, confused by their growing concern.

"You had a panic attack," Carlisle told her gently, her right wrist captured in his hand as he checked her pulse. "Your heart rate is returning to normal. "Come, you should sit down."

They led her back to their seats in the front, sitting with her as the pastor began the new ceremony to mourn the dead. She didn't understand why they were dead. She knew the reasons, the physical explanations of what had happened, but her mind still couldn't comprehend it. Not two weeks ago she had talked with her mother on the phone and watched her father yell at the television during a Mariners game and now, here she sat at their funerals. How had it all happened in such a short time? Why had she lost them? Why couldn't anyone explain it to her? Why couldn't anyone bring them back?

**:::::**

Bella didn't know how it had happened. One moment she was sitting in the funeral home looking at the coffins that held her parents' bodies and the next moment she was sitting in the car as Carlisle drove them home. Shaking her head in her confusion as the car pulled into the driveway, Bella's lips parted, no sound coming forth.

"Wh-what happened?" Bella asked as Edward helped her out of the car. "When did we leave the funeral?"

"It ended twenty minutes ago, Bella," Rosalie told her, the blonde's voice holding a note of concern. "You stopped moving or responding just after the pastor finished his opening. Edward had to carry you to the car after it was over."

"Why don't I remember any of it?" she asked, looking up at Carlisle for an answer.

"It's referred to as a dissociative state. Your mind disconnects from the events around you, either in times of great danger or, as in your case, grief. You will be alright, Bella," Carlisle promised her, stepping forward to wrap her in his arms. "It just takes time. We are all here for you, should you need to talk or cry or anything else. We are here."

"Don't leave me," she begged, not realizing she was speaking her thoughts out loud. "I can't lose you all, too."

Carlisle kissed her hair as Esme wrapped her arms around Bella from behind and Rosalie and Edward stood at her sides. They surrounded her, enclosed her in their arms, their bodies as each one in turn promised her they would never leave. Rosalie closed her eyes, Edward reading her thoughts and knowing that were his sister able, she would be sobbing. She had been against Bella from the beginning, always believing the girl to be making a foolish choice in throwing her human life away to be with them. But now, after working through her emotions with Kate and Tanya and after comforting Bella, Rosalie's mind had changed.

Her thoughts were no longer envious of Bella or hateful of what the girl was giving up, instead it seemed that she had opened herself up to allow Bella inside her heart. Through the grief of losing her parents, Bella had come to find a sister and steadfast confidant in Rosalie. It was Rosalie who broke the four-cornered embrace first and led Bella into the house. Helping her up the stairs and out of the borrowed dress, she helped Bella change into a pair of elastic banded dance pants and one of Edward's long sleeved t-shirts.

"Bella," Edward's voice was soft and she looked to where he stood in the doorway. "Carlisle needs you to come downstairs. He needs to look at your ribs, take a few X-rays."

She nodded quietly, knowing that Carlisle was concerned that she was still in so much pain. Rubbing the back of her sleeve covered hand over her eye; Bella moved closer and let him lift her into his arms. Resting her head against Edward's shoulder, she let her eyes fall closed and felt the peacefulness of sleep overtake her.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

_Journal of Carlisle Cullen_

_To describe grief is to give voice and life to loss. There was nothing that could have prepared me, or any one of my family members for all that has happened in such a short time. Bella's injuries, while extensive, are a mix of superficial cuts and bruises as well as the more serious fractures of her wrist and ribs are not what have me worried the most. That right has been reserved for the grief that she has spent the past two weeks running from. Previously, Jasper had been instrumental in assisting Bella, helping her function beyond her pain. Until the funerals two days ago, not one of us knew the true extent of how crushing that grief was._

_Edward lies with her now in his room upstairs as I sit here below in my office. Each time she had fallen asleep since the funerals she has woken screaming, crying, begging for what has happened not to be true. Esme and I have cooked Bella meals, soups, pastas, her favorite dishes, anything and everything, but she has refused food. The few times we have been successful in getting her to eat she has vomited shortly there after. Her stomach will not hold solid food; her emotions will not allow it. I have been forced to resort to meals in a bottle, protein drinks that are little more than an adult version of infant formula. _

_I had thought that I was doing the right thing in telling Jasper to leave, to travel to Seattle for a few days, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. He needed the break, needed the time to be with Alice for a short while as much as I fear Bella needed the chance to truly feel the grief that she was experiencing. I had thought that Jasper had been controlling her grief, keeping it from her in a vain effort to protect her from the darkness of such a terrifying emotion, but since the morning of the funerals, I have come to realize that he was not the one erecting the barrier. Bella was._

_The trauma of what she bore witness to as well as the emotions that could not be avoided were overwhelming to the point that she had simply found a way to turn them off, at least while she was awake. As she slept, her unconscious mind gave free reign to the emotions she denied herself the truth of and because of this her nightmares have been constant. Her terrified screams rip through this house, echoing with the force of hurricane. She is unable to sleep longer than an hour – ninety minutes at most – without screaming herself awake and no matter how horrible her dreams, Edward remains unable to wake her until her nightmare ends. _

_I have often thought of calling Jasper home, if only so that her dreams would not haunt her so, but I must consider my son as well. Jasper has always been the last one to speak. He stands by the wayside, watching and analyzing until he finds where he is needed most and then he executes whatever actions need be taken. This trait is a testament of his days as a Major in the Confederate Amy, it is what made him so skilled in leading his human troops and then later in guiding his creator, Maria, to glory during the newborn battles for dominance of the southern territories. But this trait of his is also what makes me worry for him more than the others. I have seen him take action with Bella, use his talent to soothe her and help her sleep while wearing himself down to such a point that he was needing to hunt almost every day. _

_For Jasper to need such a constant source of sustenance speaks of the toll Bella's emotions were taking on him as beforehand, he like the rest of my family, needed only to hunt once a fortnight. As much as I wish to call him back here, as much as I wish to beg for him to assist Bella, I fear that in doing so I will harm him. As much as Bella is my daughter, so too is Jasper my son and I must protect them both, even if it is from each other. By the heavens, I pray that I am making the right choice in not calling him home._

Carlisle looked up from his journal at the terrifying cry of Bella's screams. He heard Edward's voice, joined in close succession by Rosalie's. His daughter had become inseparable from Bella, even going so far as to help her dress and bathe. Looking away from the ceiling to glance at the presence he felt in the open doorway of his office, he found Esme to be standing silent as she stared at him. The expression on her face was awash with sadness, helplessness, her butterscotch eyes begging him for some kind of answer, some possible way to soothe Bella's pain. Sighing sadly, his eyes falling closed slowly, Carlisle shook his head. There was nothing he could do, he had no way of soothing her grief, her anguish was all consuming, her body only emphasizing that as she grew thinner.

Her body had already been in a weakened state, first by the crash she endured in addition to the nearly hour and half that she spent walking through the freezing rain to get to their house. Her injuries were compounded by her grief, by the way that her emotions made her continually sick to her stomach. The first few days she had been emotionally numb and because of that she had been able to eat a slightly larger amount, but on the third day her stomach had revolted.

"Carlisle," Esme's voice was soft, pained as she pulled him from his thoughts. "What do we do?" she begged him for a solution, anything that might help Bella.

"We call Alice," he said and gave a soft snort of tired amusement when his cell phone rang. "Hello Alice," he said as he answered the call on speaker, not having to look at the caller ID to know that it was her.

"I've already sent Jasper back. I should warn you, he's upset that you didn't call earlier. The only way for Bella to get better is for Jasper to help control her emotions. Her grief is overpowering her."

"There are other ways," Carlisle began wondering if Jasper's influence would be the best solution for either of them.

"Drugs, Carlisle?" Rosalie asked from the doorway, a scowl on her face. "Do you really want to introduce more drugs into her system? Antidepressants would turn her into a zombie. Jasper has what she needs, and his assistance does not come with side effects."

"Do we have the right to use Jasper like that?" Carlisle asked with a shake of his head, this situation was truly beyond his scope of experience.

"You're not using me," Jasper's voice sounded as he passed by Carlisle's office on his way to the stairs. "You should've called earlier," his Texan accent was thick with his disapproval.

**:::::**

He growled low, his lip curling back in a snarl as he raced through the thickness of the woods and trees. Alice's visions had been growing stronger with Bella, strong enough that during her last vision he had been able to _feel_ Bella's emotions. He hadn't waited for Alice's words or a call from Forks, he had simply run. He had reached Forks in record time, not even a car could've gone as fast as he had. The air around him had split when he had reached the forests three miles outside his home, the sonic boom surprising even him.

He wasn't surprised to see Jacob standing sentry outside the house, his hulking form all the more giant as he stood on the rear balcony of the house. His rust colored fur moved with the grace of ocean waves in the breeze and his large head turned, lifting to look Jasper in the eye as he came to a stop on the outskirts of the woods. Taking in a deep breath, he gasped as the force of Bella's grief hit upon him like the wave of a monsoon, stopping him dead in his tracks in the yard outside the back door that led into the kitchen. He had taken a single step closer only to fall to his knees, her pain surging and pulsing stronger, reminding him of air raid siren.

Jacob leapt from the balcony, trotting to Jasper's side and standing next to the vampire's crumpled form. He and Edward may never see eye to eye, Bella too much a center piece for them to be much more than reluctant comrades in her protection. But the rest of the family had gained his respect and loyalty, Jasper gaining his gratitude as well for his help in easing both Bella's grief as well as his own. Flanking the southern vampire, he stood against Jasper's side before lying down and nudging his large head under his arm.

Jasper looked to the wolf at his side, feeling the calm of Jacob's emotions, his willingness to be used as a steadying stone. Nodding his thanks, he threaded his fingers through Jacob's thick fur and held on as he slowly rose to stand on all fours, bringing Jasper to his feet with him. Closing his eyes as he regained his balance with Jacob's help, he struggled for equilibrium in the midst of the grief, pain and fear outpouring from the girl lying inside the house. He understood from the emotions he felt coming from Bella's friend that Jacob was in his wolf form for two reasons: one, he was better able to protect Bella as a wolf and two, his own grief was easier to handle as a canine than as a human.

Taking in a deep breath as he wrapped his hand around the brass handle on the door, he watched Jacob retake his sentry position before turning back to the house and walking inside. He had been forced to block Bella's emotions at first, kneeling just inside the kitchen door, before slowly opening his mind to them once again. He heard the conversation in Carlisle's office as he passed by the open door, adding his own opinion before ascending the stairs. He was at Bella's side, kicking off his shoes and climbing into bed with her in moments. He wrapped her in his arms, taking her from Edward's hold as he cocooned her in his talent and pressed her cheek to his chest. Jasper kissed her forehead, spoke to her softly as he soothed her back to sleep and nodded to his brother, Edward breathing out a sigh as he settled down against Bella's back and wrapped his arms around her as well.

_What the hell happened, Edward?_ Jasper asked his brother through his thoughts. _When did things get this bad?_

"Charlie's funeral," he said, his voice too soft for human ears to detect. "Carlisle told her that Charlie was dead, but she didn't believe him. When she saw him lying in his coffin something inside her just…broke."

"Why the hell didn't anyone call me 'fore y'all took her to the funerals?" Jasper's voice was harsh, thick as he looked away from Edward to stare at his adoptive parents and sister who stood just inside the room.

"You needed the break, Jasper," Carlisle said, his eyes daring the southern vampire to argue. "You were hunting almost every day when previously you had only needed to hunt once every week to two weeks. Her emotions were taking quite a toll on you."

Bella stirred slightly, whimpering and Jasper clenched his jaw against the rising tide of her emotions. He hadn't hunted on his way home and was beginning to regret that oversight. Closing his eyes as he drew in a deep breath, Jasper wrapped his talent around her, separating her from her grief and anguish while filling her with love and safety. Opening his eyes to look at Carlisle, his golden eyes had darkened to a color reminiscent of brown sugar.

"I understand your reasoning, Carlisle. Were I in your place, I may even have made the same decision you did, but it doesn't mean that I like it," Jasper said.

Looking down at the girl wrapped in his arms, he watched as she stirred again, her dark eyes fluttering open. Her brows furrowed in confusion, her right hand curling into a fist over her heart. She tipped her head up slowly, looked at Jasper as though she couldn't remember who he was for a moment before her eyes widened and she gasped. Bella choked on a sob as she wrapped her arms around Jasper, understanding without having to be told that the absence of her heart wrenching grief was due to his presence.

"I'm here, baby girl," Jasper soothed her, stroking his hand down over her hair. "I'm here."

**:::::**

_Jasper returned a short while ago, his influence calming Bella, removing the insanity of her grief if only for a short while. I understand his anger at not having been called to her aide before now, and even though we all may be stronger and more indestructible than Bella, I still worry that Jasper is overexerting himself. I watched as his eyes went from gold to dark brown before my eyes as he laid with Bella and took away her grief. He will need to hunt again soon. _

Carlisle sat his pen down in the open trench between the pages of his leather bound journal and held Bella's most recent chest X ray up to the light. The lower four ribs on her left hand side had been bruised and very fragile after her accident, but her insistence of sleeping on her side had taken the hurt bone from bruised to cracked with hairline fractures. As much as it hurt her to lie on her side, she refused to sleep any other way.

_Her ribs are cracked, adding to her pain. Her lack of food and loss in weight has only made matters worse as her body does not have the necessary nutrients with which to heal itself. Were she a patient in a hospital, I would have inserted a feeding tube by now. The only thing that has stayed my hand from doing just that has been Alice. She insists that the introduction of a feeding tube would only make matters worse. _

_I am the father of this family, the leader of our coven, but I fear that my ability to be strong for those I love is beginning to weaken. I grieve for what my human daughter is going through, my heart aches for her in a way that I have not felt before. A part of me wants to change her now, before her condition deteriorates further as I fear it will. But a great part of me fears what may become of her if she were to be changed in the midst of her grief. My indecision stills my hand. _

Carlisle looked up at Jasper walked into his office, Bella cradled in his arms. She was wrapped in a light blanket, swaddled like a child. Her eyes were barely open, her face tucked against Jasper's shoulder. Looking at his son quizzically, he expected Jasper to stop at some point, to tell him that Bella needed morphine or something else, but instead his son came up to his side.

"I sent Edward and Rosalie to hunt, they both needed it. Jacob's been keeping an active sentry around the house and Leah and Seth have been patrolling the woods in a five mile radius of our home. They're protecting us as much as they are Bella." Jasper drew in a deep breath as he looked down at Bella and then back up at Carlisle. "Edward cannot read her thoughts; he didn't understand that all this time, she's wanted you and Esme." Jasper laid Bella into Carlisle's arms watching as his father accepted her weight in his arms and amazed by how the intensity of her fear abated almost instantly as she blinked up at him. "She lost Charlie, was forced to accept his death in a manner that would've traumatized anyone else, but she still has both of you. She came to accept you long ago as her father in law, with Charlie and Renee dead; she has feared your deaths as well. She needs to feel you close, to feel your touch and hear your voices."

"Carlisle."

Bella's voice was soft enough that only one of his kind would've been able to hear it and he looked down into her sleep filled eyes. Tucking her hair behind her ear, he cradled her against his chest and kissed her brow.

"I'm here, Little One," he promised, rocking her gently in his lap as she sniffled.

Bella took in a shuddering breath; her tears coming slowly as Jasper ever so slowly released his hold on her emotions. She moved, turning just enough to tuck herself closer against his side. He pulled up the end of the blanket when she moved her arm, the opening in the folds just enough for her to get her hand out and grasp a hold of his shirt in her fist. Her eyes fluttered closed and Carlisle could feel her muscles relax as she fell asleep against him.

Standing slowly, Carlisle closed his journal over the pen that lay in the folds and carried Bella up to his bedroom. Esme was already upstairs waiting for him. She had turned down the comforter, knowing that with Bella's loss in weight it was difficult for the girl to keep warm. A sad smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he laid Bella down gently in the middle of the bed. Esme pulled the blankets up over her before settling beside Bella on top of the covers. Carlisle took off his shoes, a stray thought occurring to him as he set his shoes down and he stood.

Human sense were so very dulled in comparison to vampire senses and as Jasper had said that she needed their physical presence, perhaps she needed his scent as well. Moving to his closet he withdrew a dark knit fisherman's sweater and brought it to the bed. Sitting down next Bella, opposite Esme, he looked down upon the sleeping girl. She looked so tiny lying there beneath the dark over stuffed blankets. Her eyes fluttered open, her sleep intermittent. She looked up at him, frowning at the change in position; Bella tried to sit up and looked at Esme when the woman supported her. Bella's eyes widened at the sight of Esme, it wasn't that she hadn't seen them since the funerals; they had been around plenty it was more that they hadn't been so close to her.

Bella turned, crying as she wrapped her arms around Esme's shoulders and the Cullen matriarch held her close. Rubbing her back and stroking her hair, Esme spoke soft comforts to Bella, promising her that she and Carlisle were not going to leave her or disappear on her as her parents had.

"Bella," Carlisle's voice was soft, drawing her attention as she sat back from Esme. "I thought perhaps you would like something a little bit warmer to sleep in."

Frowning as she pulled the blanket that had been wrapped around her out from under the blankets, she looked down at Edward's t-shirt that she was dressed in and up at Carlisle. He held up the sweater in his hands and Bella nodded her expression crumbling as she took the soft garment and held it up to her face to bury her nose in the soft cloth. How often in the weeks following James' attack had she taken comfort from sleeping in Edward's shirt, or Charlie's, or even Emmett's when he would stop by to check on her when Edward was out hunting. She tugged the sweater on with his help, Esme watching quietly with a soft smile.

Carlisle smiled, amused at how the long arms of his sweater swallowed her hands completely and he folded up the cuffs. Her eyes blinked heavily and he guided her back down to the pillows, tucking the blankets up under chin and encouraged her to sleep. Looking at his wife to find her gently stroking Bella's hair, he took in her expression and asked her to share her thoughts.

"I think we forget sometimes that Bella came into our lives not only as Edward's true love, but as our true daughter," Esme said softly as Bella lay sleeping between them, further explaining her meaning at the sight of her husband's furrowed brow. "The others came to us on the brink of death, they accepted us as their adoptive parents, or adopted us," she said with a smile thinking of Alice and Jasper. "But Bella, she has come into our family as a human. She looks at us, not just as her soon to be adoptive vampire in laws, but as adoptive parents as well. She loved her mother and her father, but I wonder how much she truly felt like a daughter to either of them."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked as he lay down next to Bella and looked up at his wife.

"She loved Renee and Charlie without question," Esme said, "but she often told me that Renee was flighty and a bit forgetful. Bella was the one who more often than not had to remember to cook dinner or make the grocery list for her mother to take shopping. Charlie she hadn't gotten to spend much of any time with until recently, and by then she was already grown. She told me once that he was easy to talk to, but often acted uncertain around her, as though he wasn't sure how to respond to her. She and her mother left Forks when she was only five, she told me that the only thing she remembered of Charlie before moving back was the last fight that he and her mother had that led to their leaving."

"In other words," Carlisle said as Bella curled closer to him in her sleep. "She was always taking care of them, rather than the other way around."

"Yes," Esme said as she lay back on the pillows, turning on her side to watch Bella sleep. "And with us…" she let her voice tail off and Carlisle finished her statement.

"We take care of her. She is ours to look after."

**:::::**

_Journal of Jasper Whitlock, January 2010_

_I have felt emotion. I know the ice of hate and the fire of passion; I have felt the stillness of peace and the immobility of fear. I have tasted grief and I have known the beauty of love so pure and sweet that time itself would lie down and be still for. But never in my many years have I felt the all consuming, bone crushing anguish and sorrow that I felt coming from Bella. _

_The range of my ability has always seemed small. To feel and influence another's emotions I have always needed to be within one hundred feet or less of the person. What I felt through Alice's vision was only a hint of what I felt upon arriving home. I cannot remember ever having run so fast as I did early this morning. When I had left Alice with Emmett and the children the sun had barely peeked over the horizon and when I arrived in sight of our home in Forks, beautiful ribbons of reds and golds still painted the sky. I did not hunt on my way home, so great was my need to reach my sister, and I knew that my error in judgment would cost me greatly as soon as I broke through the forest surrounding our home._

_I had not stepped within fifty yards of the back door when Bella's sorrow drove me to my knees. It felt as though an immeasurable weight had been placed upon my shoulders, the ground beneath me unable to support me any longer. Perhaps a more comprehensible analogy for what I felt would be as though I were trying to swim through a rip tide and strong undercurrent with leaden weights affixed to my feet. With nothing to hold onto, no solid ground to stand on, it was near impossible to keep my head above the water long enough to catch a single burning breath. _

_I was able to make it into the kitchen, my efforts spent blocking her emotion and letting it in minute amounts at a time until I had better control over its effect on me, when another wave of pain so great drove me to the ground again. Being an immortal as I am, I have no need of the air around me, but still I found myself struggling to breathe. I do not know how Bella was able to function with emotions that strong bearing down on her like some starving beast come to make a meal of her very soul. It took all of my considerable effort to forge a wall around her grief, to hold it back from her until she was able to catch her breath enough to endure it. _

_My brother and Bella's true mate, Edward, has always had a great advantage over the rest of us for his ability to read minds and know a person's thoughts and needs. With Bella, he has no such advantage, he cannot penetrate her mind and for that he knew not how to help her. He didn't understand the one basic need that her emotions told me as clearly as the brilliant sun shinning in through the windows. Bella's loss of her mother, her father and her step father have made her more than sensitive in her need of Carlisle and Esme. She has accepted them as her adoptive parents as much as they have accepted her as their daughter, but none of them understood that her fear of losing them as well has only made her grief that much worse. _

_Edward has done his best to comfort Bella, to let her know that he is there for her and that he loves her. As much as his presence is a source of comfort and strength for her, my human sister's heart cries out desperately for Carlisle and Esme more. She is desperate to feel them close to her, to know without doubt that they are there with her. Bella is not one of our kind yet, she cannot simply breathe deeply and smell them near or close her eyes and reach out for the feel of their presence. No, Bella is human and because of this her senses are incredibly dulled in comparison to ours. She needs to see them, touch them; she needs the physical reassurance of their voices, their arms. _

_My other siblings, even Emmett who is arguably the youngest of our family, have been as we are for so long that they have forgotten the need for the physical reassurance. The feel of one's presence is enough for one of our kind, but for Bella it is not. When I felt steady enough to open myself to Edward, to allow him to see through the turbulence of emotion and understand what she needed, he immediately felt ashamed as though he should've have know what she needed. He still does not allow himself the benefit of a doubt where Bella is concerned; believing his lack of ability to read her mind is no excuse for not knowing what she needs. I had to explain to him as best I could that some things, some needs, had no words with which to be told. _

_When I took Bella into my arms and carried her to Carlisle I could feel the madness of her fear and grief diminish greatly as I laid her in his arms. When I explained to him just what it was that she needed, the expression on his face mirrored his emotions and I was flooded with his compassion and fatherly affection. It was as though he had never considered one of his children to need him in such a human manner, but then again, Bella is his only human child. He studied her, regarded her as I have seen human men regard their newborn infants. She was not an infant in his eyes, more so she was a wonder to behold and his heart expanded in order to engulf her in his love and compassion._

_She was calmed and comforted so much by the feel of his arms cradling her that I was stilled and left staring after his retreating form in awe as he carried her upstairs. I knew the moment that Esme had joined him by the feel of the peace infusing Bella's heart of which I had no influence. I believe that it is confusing for Edward to know that it is his parents that Bella needs and not him. She will of course look to him for strength, for love that only one's mate can provide, but for comfort from her grief and healing from her pain she will look to them. _

_She is sleeping now, lying wrapped in Carlisle's arms with Esme on her other side. She has been sleeping now for almost six hours and Edward has spoken to me of his surprise as previously during my absence, she had been waking up nearly every hour to two hours screaming from memories turned nightmares. Perhaps with the more attentive care she is now receiving from Carlisle and Esme she will find peace enough for her body to heal as it needs to. I do not know if I will be able to aid her in feeling calm enough to consume solid food once again, but I will do as much as I possibly can. _

_As my need of sustenance will no longer be denied, I will end this entry by saying this: emotion is not static nor is it something that is identical from one person to the next. Emotion is as ever changing and fluid as the oceans and it is the tie that binds us all as family. _

**:::::**

"Something's wrong with Jacob," Edward told Carlisle as his father pulled the door to his bedroom closed, Esme still lying beside Bella as she slept in their bed.

"In what manner?" Carlisle asked, frowning as he descended the stairs with Edward and looked out the back door.

He watched as the giant russet colored wolf shook his head roughly and whined low. He looked unsteady as he moved closer to the balcony and shook his head again. His steps were slow; his huge legs vibrating with the effort it took him to walk.

"He wants to talk to you," Edward said, opening the door and stepping outside with Carlisle. "He's been trying, but he's not strong enough to revert back to his human form."

"Will you translate?" Carlisle asked, though the request was more a show of courtesy as his son had showed every intention of doing exactly that.

Carlisle walked down the wooden steps toward Jacob and was surprised when instead of backing away as he expected the wolf to do, he fell heavily to sit on his hindquarters, his shoulders trembling with the effort it took him to keep from falling down completely. Carlisle's eyes widened at the sight and he spoke a few soft words of comfort as he stepped closer and touched the rough fur of his snout, looking into Jacob's eyes as he listened to his harsh breathing. He looked exhausted and weak, something he was not used to seeing from the powerful wolf and was even more surprised by the low whine that sounded from the shape shifter.

"He's embarrassed about the request he wants to make, he's afraid you'll say no," Edward told him softly, his eyes trained on the wolf.

"Jacob, how long has it been since you've slept, or eaten anything for that matter?" Carlisle asked as he watched the drooping brown eyes blink slowly.

"He can't clearly remember," Edward answered and frowned. "The wolves need to consume nearly four times as much food as they did before they first phased just to keep their energy up." Carlisle watched Edward's eyes widen as he looked at Jacob in a mix of amazement and wonder. "Are you sure, Jacob?"

Carlisle watched as the wolf nodded, dragging his front right paw through the ground by Carlisle's feet and making a deep trench in the mud as he dragged himself back to his feet and stood tall. It was not without difficulty for him to do so, but with the pride of an alpha wolf, he would not lay weak at the feet of the man to whom he would make his request. Breathing in deeply, his lungs expanding to stretch out his sides and puff out his chest, Jacob raised his head and looked at Carlisle through slightly blurred vision. Looking at Edward and nodding once, bowing his head low, Jacob turned back to Carlisle and stood before the patriarch of the Cullen clan holding his head high.

"First, Jacob has a question that needs to be answered," Edward said, looking at the wolf as he spoke to his father. "How long does our venom linger in the tissues of the animals we kill and would it make their meat inedible?"

Carlisle kept his gaze on Jacob as he spoke, his voice compassionate and strong. "In animals, our venom acts as a paralytic agent and once the animal is dead, it no longer has any effect on their tissues. The meat is still edible."

Jacob nodded his head once in understanding. His left front leg gave out for a short instant beneath him before he caught his balance and shook his head to clear away the fog clouding his mind. Two birds with one stone; he reminded himself and widened his stance to remain upright. He realized that the stance looked close to preparation for a pounce and did the only thing he could think of to show Carlisle he wasn't intending to be a threat. Bowing his head and dropping his tail, he leaned forward and gently pressed the top of his head into Carlisle's stomach.

"I didn't think you to be a threat," Carlisle said, answering the thoughts Edward had read from the wolf. "Speak your request, Jacob," he demanded gently as the wolf leaned back and raised his head once more.

"He knows that we need to feed, with Bella injured and grieving as she is, he also knows that we don't want to leave her," Edward said slowly, his voice soft. "He wants to be certain that you, that we all, understand that he will not take offense if you turn down his request…" Edward looked at Carlisle, knowing his father's benevolence and hearing his thoughts, already able to sense what his father's answer would be. "His request is this: if he hunts for us, brings us back deer, will we prepare the meat for he, Leah and Seth to eat once we have consumed the blood."

"Yes," Carlisle said without hesitation. "Of course, Jacob," he answered with reverence. "It is the least we can do for all that you have done for us."

"He has something else he'd like to ask of you, of all of us really, he wants us to let him know when we intend to hunt, if we go when they're not in need of food. He's worried about Sam's attitude toward Bella's injuries and our devotion to her care. He doesn't think that Sam will be a problem, but he doesn't want to take any chances either."

"You have my word," Carlisle answered.

His muscles shook unsteadily, his fur trembling, as he stretched out his right paw and curled his left underneath, bowing to Carlisle in a show of appreciation and respect. Releasing a deep woof toward the woods, he waited for Seth to come to his side, ordering the younger male to stand sentry in his absence while he left to hunt. Trotting toward the woods, Jacob stopped and turned his head back to look at Carlisle, nodding once in gratitude before disappearing into the thickness of the forest.

Edward and Carlisle watched as Seth trotted a few steps away before phasing back to his human form. He was dressed only in a pair of cut off denim shorts, his supernatural body heat keeping him warm despite the low temperatures and damp air.

"Thank you, Doctor Cullen," Seth said and shook his hand. "It takes a lot of energy to phase back and forth and Emily jokes that we eat almost constantly throughout the day. As far as I can tell through the wolf telepathy, I don't think Jake's eaten anything in nearly four days and hasn't slept for longer than that."

Carlisle frowned at this bit of knowledge. "If you were to compare his period of fasting to a human's?" he let the question hang unfinished in the air as he looked at the younger tribesman.

Seth pursed his lips as he thought about it and then shrugged. "I can't say for sure, but I think it would be pretty close to a normal person going a week, maybe ten days without eating. The sleep thing is different. We can go up to three days before really feeling it, but without food we feel it a hell of a lot faster."

Carlisle nodded and frowned curiously when Edward smirked in amusement and disappeared inside the house only to return a moment later with his medical bag in hand. Seth snorted and shook his head.

"That's a handy little trick," the young teen said and smiled.

"Edward?" Carlisle asked as he accepted the proffered bag.

"He's pretty much responding to me," Seth said sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. "I've got this weird kind of curiosity that tends to get me in trouble."

"Oh?" Carlisle asked with a raised brow and grinned.

"I took biology last semester in school and we looked at blood samples and stuff under microscopes and discussed the different traits of human blood. I was kinda wanting you to do the same thing. I was wondering how my blood differs from a normal human's now. Is that too morbid?" he asked with a thoughtful frown.

"Not at all," Carlisle laughed and withdrew the necessary items to take a sample of Seth's blood.

"Well, this next part might seem a little weird though," he said, offering his arm out to Carlisle and watching as he wrapped the tourniquet around his bicep. "I was wondering if my blood would be different when I'm in my human form, versus when I'm in wolf form."

"You're willing to give a sample of blood while you're a wolf?" Carlisle asked and chuckled at the look on Seth's face.

"Like I said, I'm curious."

Seth waited for Carlisle to finish extracting the vial of blood from his arm and remove the tourniquet before stepping back. Grinning in a cheesy manner that reminded the good doctor of Emmett when his son was feeling playful, Seth jumped up and down a few times before announcing 'one wolf boy coming up' and phased. Chuckling as he stepped forward, Carlisle watched as Seth sat on his haunches and parted his massive jaws, letting his tongue hang out over the side in a happy grin as the vampire doctor extracted another vial of blood from his canine arm.

Looking to Edward and telling him that he would be doing another perimeter sweep, Seth bounced on his front legs before trotting off on a circuit around the house through the surrounding woods. Choosing to keep watch outside while his father took the blood samples inside the house, Edward looked at the shadows across the ground. It hadn't seemed so long, but almost an hour had passed since the time that Carlisle had agreed to Jacob's request and now. Looking back over his shoulder as Esme stepped outside, he watched as she stepped up next to his side.

"Bella's taking a bath, Rosalie's with her," she told Edward as she looked out over the forest. "Carlisle told me about Jacob's request. I'm glad he feels comfortable enough with us to ask. Was he upset about the thought of us feeding on the animal's blood?"

"No," Edward said with an amused snort. "He was actually more upset at the thought of you having to handle the carcass of the animal. He kept thinking that he would make you both uncomfortable with having to butcher the deer in order for him and the others to eat it."

Esme chuckled lightly and looked back to the woods when she heard a rustling through the trees. Jacob came stumbling out of the thicket with an eight point buck hanging from his jaws, Leah following close behind with a six point buck. Both deer had their necks broken and Edward eased Jacob's worry that he and his family would need the animals alive in order to feed on their blood. Esme's eyes widened at the sight of Jacob, his muscles trembling, his eyes barely able to stay open as he struggled to remain upright after dropping the buck at Edward's feet.

"Jacob Black, you get in this house right now!" Esme demanded, her voice holding the commanding tone of a mother that dared not be argued with.

Tipping his head to the side and frowning tiredly at Edward, he watched as the telepathic vampire shook his head.

"I find it's best to just do as she says," Edward answered with a chuckle. "She won't hurt him," he promised Leah as the female wolf raked the ground in front of her restlessly with her claws.

He watched as Jacob stepped up onto the patio before stopping in front of the back door. There was no way he would be able to fit his massive wolf form through the small door and they all knew it. Whimpering tiredly as he closed his eyes and began to pant harshly with the effort he was expending, Jacob reverted to his human form and very nearly collapsed at Esme's feet. Without a second thought, she tucked herself under his arm and wrapped her arm around his back as she led him inside the house, letting him lean against her side.

She led him into the living room and helped him to the couch, lowering him slowly to sit on the long piece of furniture. Telling him to sit there and promising to return shortly, she disappeared into the hallway and retrieved the extra pillows and blankets that she kept mainly for show. She was at his side in a moment and placed two fluffy pillows at one end of the couch as she demanded that he lay down before covering him with the quilt.

"I'll let you know when the food is ready," she promised, not surprised in the least that the boy was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

**:::::**

Jasper and Edward saw to the skinning and butchering of both deer once the family had fed. Leah was not unkind toward them as she watched them feed before preparing the meat for them to eat, but she didn't seem to be comfortable with taking food from them either. Edward wasn't surprised in the least to hear the reluctance of her thoughts and know that there was a good possibility that she wouldn't accept the prepared meat from them. Knowing his sister as he did, Seth shook his head at her, having reverted back to his human form to help prepare the meat. She had chosen to remain a wolf and he couldn't help but feel that she was being unreasonable in the face of the kindness the Cullens had shown them. Taking the large knife he'd been using, Seth cut off a large chunk off the deer's flank before calling Leah's name and throwing the meat at her.

The move was completely instinctual and before she could stop herself, Leah's jaws opened and snapped closed, catching the large chunk of raw meat in the air. Her animal instincts commanded her to chomp the meat and swallow winning out over her pride that told her not accept the food. Once she had swallowed down the meat, she faced her brother and snarled her displeasure only to be silenced when he tossed more meat at her. Catching the meat in her jaws time and again, she finally reverted to her human form before he could toss any more venison at her and looked ready to kill.

"Seth Clearwater," she growled at her little brother. "What in the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Feeding the dog," he replied to which Edward and Jasper couldn't help but laugh as they walked inside with bowls of butchered meat. "Forget your damn pride for once, Leah," he chastised his older sibling. "They've been nothing but nice to us and you're acting like they're carriers of the plague. Stop being such a bitch for once."

He lifted the large bowl of butchered meat into his hands before turning and disappearing inside the Cullen kitchen. He had plans to bring Esme flowers to thank her for all that she was doing for them, uncaring of whether his sister liked it or not. She could either swallow her pride and return the kindness and decency that the Cullens had always shown them, or he would continue tossing meat at her when she was in wolf form and feed her like a dog.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

_Journal of Edward Masen Cullen_

_There is no way possible that I ever could have been prepared for what happened. Alice wasn't even prepared for it. The night of terror, the bette noir, that struck my family was unlike anything that we have ever experienced. Carlisle has been a doctor for close to two centuries, yet even he was unprepared for his reaction to all that has occurred. Not once have I heard such fear, such immobilizing terror from my own family. _

_Isabella Marie Swan. Barely eighteen years old and human – _human_! I had never, not once, given thought to my own soul. Falling in love? That was something best left for fairytales and novels, no matter how much Carlisle wished for me to find it. Love was something that I couldn't consider, something I couldn't even allow myself to imagine and then, barely a year ago, this little fragile human walked into my life. A human who's mind I couldn't read, who didn't believe in marriage, who had a hard time understanding love. _

_She stepped into my life, my eternal torment. She healed my soul, breathed life into my undead heart and took with her everything that I am while asking for nothing in return. She never believed herself to be deserving of me. She thought herself too plain, too unforgettable to garner my attention and yet, her scent, her beauty – beauty she still can't see, is all that I want. She entranced me, ensnared me heart and soul from day one! And I, Edward Masen Cullen, was left powerless in her wake. _

_When I saw Alice's vision, the few seconds with which she saw Bella crash her truck into the tree, stumble blindly through the freezing rain…in those few seconds I felt my life, my very heart taken from me only to be crushed beneath the hands of fate. Had I escaped the Voultori's wrath, their clutches by finding Bella again only to lose her to something so…so…human? I am the fastest of my family, able to move with speed that is unmatched, but that night I moved faster than I ever have before. From the forests of Canada down to Forks, Washington I ran. _

_When I saw Bella, broken, bruised and in unbearable physical and emotional pain, lying in my brother's arms…my thoughts of waiting until after our wedding night to change her were banished. I was ready to take her from his arms and make her immortally mine right then. My desire to change her, to make certain that nothing could ever hurt her again was unlike anything I had ever felt. I burned with the thirst of a newborn while my heart, my dead still heart, cried out with the agony that only a widower knows. She wasn't dead, I could hear her heart beating and saw the rise and fall of her chest as she drew breath, but it felt as though I was watching her die. _

_I was afraid of myself, afraid that if I touched her I would change her or that somehow she would disappear. She still had her father, Charlie. She still needed to see him, to let him know that she was okay. He was supposed to be there to walk her down the aisle, to give her away at our wedding. It wasn't until a few days later that we found out Charlie had been shot twice and was lying in a surgical ward in Seattle Memorial as he fought for his life. _

_I was able to hold Bella after the first few days, after I was no longer afraid of what I might do. I was able to lie still and feel her warmth against me, doing as Jasper instructed and letting Bella find what way was comfortable for her to sleep. I wrapped her in my arms, kissed her forehead, touched her arms. I held her through her nightmares, soothed her through her upset when she was awake. Her nightmares wouldn't be silenced however. _

_Night after night, day after day, she was only able to sleep for an hour – two at most – before she was woken by the memories of that night. The memories burned into her mind of listening to her mother on the phone, hearing the crash of the cars, hearing her mother take her last breath. It is forever branded into her mind the sight of her mother trapped within her car, lying dead and broken as I saw them through Jacob Black's mind. I didn't know how to help her, Jasper did all he could, but even he was being constantly worn down. _

_His need to hunt was becoming a daily thing, until Carlisle sent him to Seattle to stay with Alice and Emmett, to be with Little Bella and her infant brother. He wanted to give my brother a break from the torment of Bella's grief as much as he felt that Bella needed to be able to feel it on her own without Jasper's calming influence. My father felt that in order for Bella to gain control, to move past the grief, she needed to feel it completely. But my brother's absence only caused her nightmares to occur more frequently, her stomach more unsettled because of it._

_Before Jasper left she had barely been able to handle much food, often turning away a meal presented to her after eating only a third or maybe half of what was given to her. After my brother left…her stomach couldn't handle any of it. That first night that he was gone she spent a total of almost three hours in the bathroom throwing up every bit of food or liquid that had been in her stomach. Carlisle's concern was maddening to deal with on top of my own, Alice's constant texts of 'no feeding tubes' driving us both to the brink of insanity. _

_And then, the worst happened. The surgeon treating Charlie called Carlisle. Bella's father had died, his wounds too much for his fragile human body to bear. I held Bella, Esme seated next to her as Carlisle gave her the horrible news. She didn't cry, she didn't become angry, she simply sat there and nodded as though he had been telling her that it was raining outside. I can't read Bella's thoughts, I didn't know what she was thinking, I didn't know that she didn't believe him. _

_And then four days ago, the most difficult test, the most horrid of circumstance – we had to take her to the funerals. Not just one, but all three in one day. Esme had thought it best, for them to all take place on the same day so that her grief, her torment wouldn't be drawn out and extended more than it had to be. I will never forget the sound of her screams, the sight of her grief and my father's torment when she saw Charlie lying in his coffin. _

_I wanted to take her away from all of that, to set her free of her grief, but there was nothing that I could do. I knew at the funeral that she not only wanted but also needed Carlisle and Esme to be with her and I pushed her to them every opportunity that I had. When we came home she laid with me. We stayed together and I held her, trying to let her find some comfort some sense of peace with which to sleep. But there was none. An hour at best was all that she slept for. An hour. Her human body needed so much more, but her mind wouldn't allow it. _

_Carlisle tried morphine, tried sedatives, but even through the haze of a drug induced sleep, her dreams brought her screaming awake. The terror and pain of screaming, the way her voice has become rough, little more than hoarse breaths because of her cries has left me helpless. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know how to take away her pain or how to help her with her grief. And then last night, Jasper came home. _

_He understood through her emotions what I couldn't through my inability to read her thoughts. Bella lost Renee, she lost Charlie and even Phil. Bella lost the entirety of her human parents in such a short time that her nightmares were twisting the reality of her memories to a point where she was constantly losing Esme and Carlisle as well. She needed them, and not just to see them occasionally or to hear their voices at a distance, but she needed _them_. She needed them to hold her, to be with her as she slept and when she woke. She needed to feel their touch, to hear their voices next to her ear. She needed to smell them and to feel them because in the madness of her grief, without that tactile interaction, she believed that she had lost them as well._

_He didn't have to speak the words, for I was reading his mind the entire time. As soon as Jasper laid Bella in Carlisle's arms, when she saw him and knew that he was there that he was holding her, the insanity of her grief abated like a great storm breaking. Through Jasper's mind I was able to feel her calm when Carlisle held her and then find true peace when she was laid in the bed between our adoptive parents. Carlisle gave her his sweater to wear to sleep in and in that moment through Carlisle's mind and Jasper's, I saw her fear abate and her grief come down to a level that she could not only endure, but she could control. _

_Last night was the first night in nearly ten days that Bella slept for more than two hours. In fact, she slept all the way through to the morning, her slumber undisturbed. This morning, with Esme sitting by her side and Carlisle holding her in his lap as she leaned tiredly against his shoulder, Bella was able to eat solid food for the first time in days. It was only oatmeal, something that would be calm on her stomach while giving her the needed fats and proteins, but still she ate and we were all happy when she was able to keep the bit of food down. _

_Rosalie helped her bathe after that and of all the surprises that I could've foreseen as possible; Jacob Black offering to hunt for us was not one of them. He is exhausted and malnourished – for one of his kind anyway. Werewolves, or shape shifters as the Quileute are, are still human and need to consume four to five times more than what they ate before they first phased into their animal forms. Jacob had not eaten in at least four days, and while Seth Clearwater said that he believed a similar period for a normal human would've been ten days, I believe it would've been much longer. Then again, Jacob had not slept in at least three days._

_Esme saw this change in Jacob when he and Leah returned from hunting. She ordered him immediately into the house and brought him to the couch to lie down. She has treated him as though he were her son and, as shocked as I first was, he has turned to her as a second mother. He never did tell me what happened to his birth mother, but when Bella asked Billy out of curiosity, I was able to see her death through his eyes. He never told Jacob the truth of what happened, hoping to spare his son the pain of knowing, but Jacob's mother was tiny. Barely five feet and was a very small woman, delicate in bone structure. Jacob was a ten pound baby, born breech during a storm. He never knew his mother as she died giving birth to him on the way to the hospital. It was the same night that Billy lost the use of his legs. _

_His father had never remarried, and though other women had come and gone through their lives over the years, Jacob's thoughts told me that Esme was the only one who ever treated him with the love ad compassion of a mother. He protects my family for two reasons, first for Bella, but second and more importantly, because of Esme. He is downstairs in the front room sleeping right now, it has been twelve hours since Esme told him to lie down and nothing has been able to wake him since. He needs to feed, we all know that, but it seems that for now, his body needs to sleep more. _

_I am uncertain if I should tell Esme of what I have learned through Jacob's thoughts. She is the eternal mother, and while I know that she would not have any qualm with Jacob seeing her as a mother, I believe that he might feel betrayed if I were to share such intimate thoughts. Through the wolf telepathy, both Seth and Leah have seen how Jacob views Esme and while Seth has taken to her in a similar manner, guarding her without question, Leah has not. She stands beside Jacob because she cannot bear to be around Sam, but it is difficult for her to accept our place in Jacob's life. _

_Carlisle has taken a leave from the hospital so that he can stay with Bella as much as she needs him and it is this small fact that has left Sam restless. Jacob believes that he may become a threat to our family. I don't know if I agree entirely, but I can understand the possibility of such a threat. For now, my main concern is Bella. Let the chips fall where they may, my mate is my focus and nothing can distract me from her care. _

_E.M.C._

Edward set his pen down and closed the leather bound journal, wrapping the leather string around the book twice before tying it in place. Looking up at the glass walls around him he watched as the ribbons of burnt orange and fuchsia danced across the sky as the periwinkle of twilight followed. Closing his eyes, he watched through Carlisle's eyes as Bella woke slowly in his arms, her casted palm coming up to cover her mouth as she yawned. Standing up, he moved to the open entrance of his parents' bedroom and looked down on his love's drowsy form a she slowly floated closer to consciousness.

Her sleeping pattern had not quite returned to normal, though she was sleeping six to eight hours at a time. She would sleep through the night and then fall back asleep in the afternoon. Always, _always_, she had to be wrapped in either his father's or Esme's arms. She had to know that her adoptive parents were close, that they were not going to disappear on her. Through Jasper he was able to feel the peace that they both brought her and was humbled by her need of them.

Her eyes opened slowly, as she yawned again and Edward watched as she turned and buried her face against his father's chest. Carlisle had never had these moments of being a father to a human before and Edward felt as though he were intruding upon something sacred as he listened to his father's thoughts. Looking to his side as Jasper joined him outside the open doorway, he was struck speechless by the emotions that he read from his brother.

**:::::**

Carlisle set his medical journal aside on the bed behind him as he felt Bella stir in his arms. Her heartbeat was gaining in speed and strength as she woke slowly, her breaths becoming shallower. Turning onto his side, he looked down on the human girl that lay resting on the pillow beside him and watched her stir. Her left hand rose to cover her moth as she yawned deeply, her eyes still closed and Carlisle caught her arm gently before she could slam her cast into her face as her clumsy, drowsy movements made it apparent that she would.

Tipping his head down, Carlisle kissed her brow and spoke her name quietly as she woke, his voice guiding her back to the conscious world without the fear of him being missing. She yawned again, sooty lashes fluttering over mahogany eyes like butterfly wings and Bella turned slowly, just enough to bury her face in the shirt he wore. His arm wrapped around her, holding her gently close as he spoke to her softly, promising her that he was there and that she was safe and loved.

"Carlisle," her whispered voice was scratchy, rough and she breathed in deeply only to cough harshly.

He sat her up gently, bringing the cup of water that sat on the bedside table to her lips. He held her cradled in one arm as she touched her fingers to the cool glass, content to let him hold it as she drank the clear liquid, wetting her dry throat. After a few moments she pushed back slightly on the glass and he set it back on the table as he helped her to sit up fully and instructed her to breathe in deeply, slowly while he closed his eyes and used his sharper vampire sense to listen to her lungs rather than gather his stethoscope from his office downstairs.

There was no longer any bubbling to her breath, her lungs free and clear of the fluid that had been present only days ago. Opening his eyes, he nodded and smiled at Bella, his expression letting her know that there was nothing to worry about. He chuckled when her stomach growled and she blushed, her all too human mannerisms endearing her to him. Soon his human daughter would no longer blush, no longer sleep curled against him as she did now. She would be one of his kind, no longer in need of sleep, no longer need to be cared for in such a delicate and attentive manner. He would miss these moments, these precious times in which he was able to be a true father and not just the patriarchal guardian of his family.

"Go," he told her gently, helping her off the bed as he stood. "Take a few moments; I'll have Esme make you something to eat."

"Thank you," she said, her tone making it clear that she meant her gratitude for more than just that moment. "I love you," she whispered as she leaned into him, her arms encircling his waist as she hugged him.

Carlisle returned her embrace, holding her tightly against him as he bowed his head over her and rested his lips against her hair. He rubbed her back, her words warming his heart with a gentle burn that filled his soul. Let the Voultori try, he thought as he held her, just let them try to come between Bella and my family. The bonds of love, of family, are far greater than any power on earth.

"I love you too, baby girl," he whispered back.

**:::::**

Bella sat at the kitchen table, sipping her orange juice as she watched Esme move about the kitchen. She seemed so happy to be making her breakfast, turning the two strips of bacon in the frying pan as she flipped the single pancake. She still wasn't able too eat too much at a time, nowhere near her normal appetite but far better than she had been only three days ago. She couldn't help but laugh as the plate was set before her, smiling down on the single pancake that had been made in the shape of Mickey Mouse. To others it may appear almost childish, but to Bella it was a welcome sign of Esme's motherly devotion to her.

"Thank you, Esme," Bella said as the woman joined her at the table.

"You're most welcome, my dear," she said and watched as the girl nibbled on the bacon, delighting in its flavor. "How are you feeling?"

"Stronger, but more tired which seems weird," Bella said and shook her head before lifting her eye brows in an almost shrug. "It still hurts a lot to know that they're all dead, that they won't be there to see me married…"

"But?" Esme prompted gently.

"But…" Bella paused, licking the syrup from her lips as she gathered her thoughts in a way that they would make sense to another. "I have all of you. It's not so bad. You and Carlisle…you make it easier somehow…safer. The grief isn't so maddening as long as you're near. I can handle it; I can feel it without letting it take me over. If I didn't have you, or Carlisle, or any of you," Bella sniffled back tears as her voice faded away.

Esme moved from her chair to stand before Bella and take her into her arms, stroking her hand down the length of Bella's hair as the girl pressed her face into her stomach. Looking up to see Edward standing in the doorway she offered him a soft smile and he nodded silently to her. Esme had been more than welcoming of him since Jasper had brought Bella to lay with her and her husband. She left her mind completely open to him, never attempting to block him and always projecting to him that it was perfectly alright for him to watch Bella through her mind and to know her thoughts concerning the girl.

It was through her mind, her thoughts and those of his father that he had been able to be near Bella and feel her recover through their care. Carlisle and Esme had been the leaders of their family, the adoptive parents and those Edward and his siblings turned to for advice, but never before had he seen them both so purely parental as they were with Bella. It was humbling, soothing, and a way he couldn't fully describe or understand, the most beautiful and natural thing that he had ever born witness to.

Stepping up to their side, he took Esme's vacated seat at the table and nodded once in gratitude as she kissed Bella's hair before clearing the table. He laid his arm across the table, his hand turned palm up and his smile was warm when Bella slid her hand over his palm and chaffed her thumb against the inside of his wrist.

"I love you, Edward," Bella said softly, standing and moving to his side.

"You are my life, Bella, you hold my heart," he told her as he moved her to sit on his lap.

Cupping her cheek in his hand as she turned her face to his, he captured her lips in a slow kiss, his lips moving over hers languidly. Bella sighed into the kiss, pressing closer and he was happy to comply, until he felt the scrape of her casted wrist against the skin of his neck. Kissing her once more before pulling back he looked into her eyes, the beautiful brown orbs full of confusion and desire. She wanted more, wanted to kiss him more, but he pushed her gently back and leaned away from her.

"Edward, why are you stopping?" she asked, resting her hands against his chest as she stared at him.

"You're hurt, Bella," Edward said as he framed her face in his hands and kissed her gently before staring into her eyes once more.

"I won't break," she said to which he snorted and looked down at her casted arm. "That doesn't count; it's not what I meant."

"Bella, my beautiful, fragile little human," Edward said with a chuckle and kissed her once more before helping her to stand and standing with her. "You are injured, you have been broken, don't argue," he told her with an amused grin when she opened her mouth. "I will gladly kiss you, hold you, carry you, touch you, but I will also take things slowly and be cautious of your injuries. I wish not to hurt you further, you are finally beginning to heal and I will not impede that. Will you stop that," he chuckled at the argumentative expression on her face as she once again opened her mouth to speak. "Let me pamper you, let me treat you as delicately as I want while you're healing. Once you are no longer injured, no longer in pain, I will not hold you back."

"Shut up," Bella said quickly when he paused and placed her fingers over his lips as she smiled. "My turn," she said her voice holding restrained amusement. "I love you; I never thought I'd find anyone like you. And yeah, ok so I'm a little banged up – don't," she laughed at his expression, her fingers on his lips silencing whatever objection he had been ready to voice. "I'm getting better, I'm healing, I'm…coming to terms with everything that's happened. It's going to take time and I know that, but don't be afraid of me, please. I want to kiss you and love you just as before the accident."

"Bella," he chuckled her name as he shook his head. "Dear, sweet Bella, I'm not afraid of you and I don't not want to love you. But before your accident we were passionate, our embraces testing each of us for our control, I don't want that while you're injured. I will still love you and touch you, but I will be far more gentle with you. I don't want our passion to injure you further. My little kitten, you might have claws but you're far more fragile than you think. Let me be gentle with you until Carlisle deems you healed."

As Bella opened her mouth to answer him a loud terrible rumbling broke the silence around them followed by a thud and she startled, spinning around. As soon as it had started the sound quieted and she shook her head, confused by the noise. Turning back to Edward she found that his eyes were wide with surprise and barely contained amusement. Stepping around her, he took her hand and led her to the doorway leading into the front room as the noise sounded again.

Jacob lay on his side on the floor, snoring intermittently. The teen had rolled off the couch onto the floor in his sleep without waking and Esme was quickly moving the furniture around him out of his way with Rosalie's help. Frowning at their actions, Bella asked what they were doing and looked up at Edward when he chuckled.

"Damn dog started kicking in his sleep and then rolled right off the couch," Rosalie said as she moved the couch behind him five feet away from the sleeping wolf. "We're moving stuff in case he phases in his sleep. Seth said that he's seen Jacob do that before and we don't want anything ruined."

"He was so exhausted," Esme said as she stepped up to Jacob's side and knelt down to touch his face. "I couldn't even wake him to eat."

A soft curse sounded from near the doorway seconds before Seth raced in and pulled Esme away from Jacob, carrying her to the doorway before setting her down. The swift movement had caught her off guard and she shook her head at the young wolf, not understanding why he had done so until he raised his arm and pointed at Jacob. In the short matter of seconds that it had taken Seth to move Esme away from the sleeping boy, he had phased into his wolf form and lay on his side kicking his legs as though he were running.

"Didn't want him to hurt you, Esme," Seth said with a shrug. "He doesn't have much control when he's asleep."

"Thank you, Seth," Carlisle said as he stepped up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Of course, Doctor Cullen – Carlisle," he corrected himself at the man's amused countenance.

"Seth?" Edward questioned the boy, concerned by the thoughts he read from the younger boy. "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded sadly and looked at his friend and alpha. He hadn't wanted to say anything, believing that he would be breaking Jacob's confidence, though he hadn't ordered the boy's discretion. Billy hadn't been able to handle the loss of both Seth's father and Bella's father so close together and had turned to his old friend – whiskey. He hadn't become violent, but he had become derogatory and more than a bit mean. He always did when he was drinking, which was why Billy had never had more than two beers at a time. Before now, that is.

"What?" Esme asked, as she looked between her son and the teen standing next to her.

"Billy kicked Jacob out, the night after the funeral," Seth said as he looked at Carlisle and Esme. "Billy always refused anything harder than beer and I never understood why until about a week ago. He likes whiskey, but it makes him mean and angry."

"What happened, Seth?" Carlisle asked compassionately, Esme's expression of horrified disbelief leaving her silent.

"Billy got drunk, blind, raging drunk. He called Jacob a whole list of names, things I'd really rather not repeat and then he told him to get out. He told Jacob that if he loved being a wolf so much than he could go live in the forest with all the other monsters." He turned his attention to Esme. "Until you commanded him inside, I hadn't seen him in human form since that night. Billy didn't know that I was in the house, he didn't see me, but I saw him. It doesn't matter that he can't actually hit or injure one of us, his words were enough. Jacob tried to hold it together, but that was when Sam decided that we needed to get Bella away from you all. Jacob just lost it. He attacked Sam and broke free from the pack by reasserting his status as true alpha. I left with Jacob and Leah followed me."

A pitiful whimpering sounded from Jacob as he lay sleeping on the floor. All eyes turned to him and Esme's heart broke as she watched his tail curl up between his legs, his ears folding against his head. Even without the sounds he was making it was clear to anyone that he was in emotional pain. Disengaging Carlisle's arms from around her waist, she stepped up to Jacob's massive head and rubbed the short course fur along his snout. Her hand moved up to the base of his ear as his eyes opened slowly, the hazel orbs staring up at her with lingering sadness.

Esme spoke his name and waited as he slowly reverted back to his human form. He stood next to her, his jaw clenched as he tried to hide the emotions running through him. He had dreamed of that night; his father's angry words, the slurred speech and smell of whiskey on the man's breath were so powerful in his mind that they would not diminish. He closed his eyes against the sight of her golden eyes and pale face staring up at him with kindness and compassion, he felt somehow undeserving of her affection. That night when his father had belittled and damned what he was, who he was, Jacob had needed someone to blame just to make it through the night and he had blamed the Cullen's. He had never and would never say as much to them; it had been his trial to endure, but that one moment of weakness made him feel unworthy of her kindness.

"Oh, Jacob, no," Esme said, wrapping her arms around him as she responded to the thoughts Edward read from him, his voice too low for the teen to hear. "Sweetheart, you are welcome here with us. Jacob, look at me," she demanded gently, her hands framing his face.

He was trembling; his muscles displaying the strain of his efforts to keep from letting his emotions overtake him. It took everything in him, every ounce of control he had to look down at her and open his dark eyes to her. Her golden eyes were kind, staring up at him with a look of timeless knowledge held deep within as though she knew his pain, knew what he felt and could see through all his barriers deep into his very soul. It was her eyes that finally broke him, the promise of safety, the promise of home. They were supposed to be natural enemies, they were supposed to hate each other and want to do nothing except kill each other, yet there she stood welcoming him into her home, into her family.

He fell against her, his emotions taking over as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder. Esme returned his embrace, holding him tightly, as she rubbed his back to soothe his upset. Carlisle looked upon his wife with great pride and endless love. Her talent, her greatest strength was her heart, her passion for those she took into her care and called family. That his family was protected by three werewolves was testament in and of itself, but for his wife to take one in and call him family spoke not only of the person she was but also of the person Jacob was. Stepping up beside his wife, he laid his hand on Jacob's shoulder and nodded his agreement when the teen looked up at him.

"You are welcome here, Jacob Black. You have a home with us," Carlisle spoke his words not just a message to the boy in his wife's arms, but a decree to his family as well.

Standing back from Esme, Jacob breathed in deeply and nodded quietly. Standing to his full height, his head held high, he looked to Seth. The teen nodded and stepped outside for a moment before walking back in with his sister, the girl clearly unsettled at being inside the home of a vampire coven. Seth moved to stand behind Jacob on his right side, his stance mirroring his alpha's. Leah followed suit on his left.

"Carlisle Cullen, Esme," he nodded to each in turn, his words formal, ceremonial. "As alpha of my pack, beyond the lines of the treaty you made with my ancestor Ephram Black, I promise you the protection of myself and the two standing with me. My pack shall protect you until the day we die. You have earned both my respect and my gratitude."

It was Jacob's nod, his sign that the ceremonial words had been spoken that broke Seth out of his formal stance. He looked at Esme, the playful expression on his face bringing a laugh from her as he stepped up to her with a slight bounce.

"What do you say, Mom," he joked. "Can we keep the puppy?"

Carlisle chuckled, Esme laughed, Edward shook his head, Jacob rolled his eyes and Bella giggled. Leah made her excuses and stepped outside; she heard the words, understood his command and would follow it. Under her pride and spiciest bias she had to admit her own grudging respect for the Cullen's, that didn't mean she had to like it though. Rosalie stepped up to Jacob, her eyes narrowed on him as she studied him stoically.

"Depends, is he house broken?" she asked with dry humor.

**:::::**

Emmett packed the rest of the bags into the trunk of Jasper's car and closed the lid. Staring up at the small one floor home, he shook his head. Little Bella still didn't understand what it meant that her mother was dead, but she was excited to go home with him and meet Papa Carlisle and Gramma Esme. He watched Alice come out to him carrying the infant in her arms. She had changed him into a one piece sleeper, the soft blue cloth decorated with little brown wolves. All four walls including the door of the children's room had been made into one giant mural. The painting held extraordinary detail, the scene a forest that bled from the sunrise on the door, to the full moon on the west wall. Trees and tall grasses, dandelions and wildflowers, bears, wolves, rabbits and other forest creatures decorated the walls.

He had found an unfinished painting in the master bedroom, a portrait of a man, Little Bella's father he assumed, holding the child on his knee. There was the edge of an outline of something in the man's hand and though he hadn't been able to clearly identify what it was meant to be, he thought perhaps it was a book. Bella's mother it would seem was an artist, and a very talented one at that.

"The movers will be here tomorrow to pack up the rest of the house and bring the truck to Forks," Alice said as she handed the child over to Emmett. "We should name him; we can't just keep calling him 'little brother'."

"Do we have the right to name him?" Emmett asked as he tucked the sleeping infant into the car seat and fastened the straps.

"His mother is dead, Emmett, his father is unable to care for him," Alice said reasonably and looked to the car seat next to him, Little Bella asleep and leaning against the safety straps. "There is no one left to name him. I searched for infant books, but I didn't find any."

"I called Eleazar," Emmett said as he shut the back door quietly and looked at Alice. "The doctors have been talking to him about staff infections and possible amputation. I told him to call Carlisle, I don't know much about the medical side of things and don't feel comfortable calling the shots on that."

Alice nodded and set her overnight bag on the front passenger seat. The past few days had been trying to say the least. The infant boy hadn't wanted to sleep at all in the past few days and they were both thankful that he slept now. Emmett took the car keys from her hand and pulled his sister close for a tight hug. Alice buried her face in his shirt and drew in a deep shuddering breath as the emotions from the past week caught up with her. Her hands gripped his shirt tightly as she sobbed tearlessly in his arms. She was used to having Jasper there to comfort her when she was like this, when her emotions overcame her and the need to cry was beyond what she could control. He would soothe her with his talent and hold her until the feeling passed, but she didn't have him here.

Emmett bowed his head over her, engulfing her as completely in his arms as he could while speaking soft words of comfort to her. He hugged her tightly, rubbed her back as she trembled in his arms. It was times like this when he held her that he was reminded of just how tiny his little sister was and vampire or not, her diminutive size always made him feel that she needed more protection. He held her until her dry sobs passed and she grew calm again. Her eyes would never be red, her cheeks never warm with the depth of her sorrow, but her golden eyes would always display the emotion as clear to him as the summer sun. Kissing her forehead as he pulled back, he opened the car door and held it for her while she climbed inside and buckled in.

Closing the door, he walked around to the driver's door and took one last look at the quaint cottage style house before slipping behind the wheel and driving away. In just a few hours they would be back with their family and Little Bella and her infant brother would have a veritable village to take care of them. Holding out his hand with a lopsided smile, he heard Alice's soft laugh when she placed her palm inside his.

"It'll be alright, Ali," he promised her. "You'll see."

"Thanks, Big Brother," she said, grinning when he smiled brightly.

**:::::**

Bella's eyes fell closed on a soft sigh as she stood within the circle of Edward's arms. He stood with her in the library, her casted arm resting against his chest as he danced gently with her in small slow circles. The sounds of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata soothed her into a state of semi consciousness as her cheek rested over his silent heart. He kissed her hair as the song ended and bled seamlessly into Debussy's Claire de Lune. She offered one more, soft happy sigh before her body grew heavy against him, her muscles relaxing completely. Edward bent down and caught her behind the knees, cradling her high against his chest as he continued to sway and dance slowly to the classical music.

Kissing her forehead as the song changed and strings of Chopin filled the room. He danced with her through two more songs before looking down into her sleeping face as he came to stand still. She was completely asleep, her face peaceful and relaxed. Walking with her into Carlisle's office, he found his father gathering papers off the fax machine. Turning around, Carlisle looked up and smiled at the sight of Bella sleeping in his son's arms. Setting the papers down on his desk he stepped up to Edward.

"All ready for bed?" Carlisle asked as Edward laid her into his arms.

"Just barely asleep," Edward answered with a smile. "She can fall asleep with me just fine, but if she wakes up without either of you…"

"We'll take care of her," Carlisle promised him as he kissed Bella's forehead and stepped past his son.

He cradled Bella in his arms as though she were the most precious and fragile thing he had ever held. Carrying her up the stairs, he tucked her into his bed and covered her with the thick blankets. Moving to the bookshelf beside the window, he retrieved the copy of Wuthering Heights that Esme had begun reading to her the night before and sat down beside Bella on the bed. Turning to lie on his side next to her as he opened the book, he curled his arm around the sleeping girl and began to read.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Her constant growling was driving him nuts. Her almost hateful thoughts for the Cullen's had him on the defensive and she was his sister! Seth shook his massive head, the fur on the rough of his neck standing high in his anger and before he could think about what he was doing, he was bearing down on Leah. Her intolerance had reached his breaking point and he snapped at her, growling low as he stood to his full height, his paws at a wide stance allowing him to either run or pounce easily while also being intimidating. At least he would have intimidated her, had she not been his sister.

Leah charged Seth, her younger brother though larger than her was not faster and her speed made up for her smaller size. They grappled and snarled, mud coating their fur and faces as their massive jaws snapped at each other. The back door of the Cullen manor opened, Jacob and Carlisle charging outside after having witnessed the fight from within the kitchen.

"Stop this!" Jacob commanded on a growl as he launched from the patio to the ground, phasing in midair.

His bark was deep, sharp and commanding, the sound reverberating with the force of a thunderclap. Seth refused to relinquish his hold on Leah's neck until she stopped snapping her jaws at him and Jacob stepped in front of the siblings, his massive size made larger by his disapproval over their fighting. Locking eyes with Leah, he growled low, his meaning clear and she fell still on the ground, whimpering low as she submitted to the commands of her alpha. As soon as she stilled, Seth released her and moved aside, standing still and silent as he looked at Jacob.

"What the hell is your problem?" Jacob fairly snarled at Leah after phasing back to his human for, she and Seth following suit.

"My problem?" Leah repeated as she stalked angrily near the tree line. "They're vampires, Jacob! We're supposed to kill them not play house with them!"

Carlisle stood silently on the patio as he watched and listened to their interaction. He had feared that this might happen. Jacob had come to learn to respect his family while Seth had accepted them without question or comment. It still baffled him that the younger wolf had taken to them so easily as if there was no difference at all between them. Leah's attitude though, while frustrating, was not unexpected.

"Jake," Seth cut in before he could say anything. "You're an easy target. She's upset with me more."

Jacob looked at Seth for a moment before nodding and folding his arms over his chest. He had been asleep for almost a full day after promising the Cullen's the protection of his pack and had not been completely aware of the build up between the siblings. When he had woken and followed Carlisle into the kitchen, intending to speak with him while he ate to his fill, he was upset by the sight of Leah and Seth fighting in wolf form.

"Come on, Leah," Seth said, the expression on his face strangely both impassive and defensive. "Let's have it."

She turned on him, her anger clear in every movement and sound that she made. He could tell that she was on the verge of reverting to her wolf form, her temper at its limit. Seth's gift though, his own special talent was his steel edged control and even temper. It took a lot to ignite his anger, but when enraged he was able to keep tight rein on his temper. He chose when to phase, he couldn't be bullied or egged into it, which was something that not only set he and sister apart but also drove a wedge between them. He was the youngest of the wolves by far, but his control exceeded even Sam's and Jacob's.

"God, Seth, they're vampires! Do I need to spell it out for you?" she raged as she continued to pace.

"Your intolerance makes you blind, Leah," Seth told her, his voice calm, his expression sad. "Ever since Sam imprinted on Emily you've been angry and close minded. I don't give a rat's ass that they're vampires. At the end of the day they're people, just like you and I. And just like everyone – humans, wolves, vampires, there are the good ones and the bad ones. The Cullen's, Leah, they're the good guys. No matter what legend tells you, no matter what Sam says, no matter what you're damn nose tells you. They're the good guys. We were all human once, so were they, granted," he looked back at Carlisle and shrugged, "it was like forever ago for them, but still, they had parents, they were born and then they became creatures of legend, just like we did."

He turned away from his sister, her pacing becoming almost dizzying to watch. He covered half the distance between where they stood and the patio where Carlisle stood before turning back to face his sister.

"There's good and evil everywhere. There are humans who are evil, who take advantage of power and those that are weaker than they are for no more reason than that they can. Need an example? Hitler, Manson, Custer and the other soldiers who drove our peoples off their lands generations ago. Vampires can be good and evil too. The bitch who created the newborn army, she was evil, the newborns were evil by association – they didn't know any different. But Carlisle and his family, they're the good ones, Leah. They're the exception to the rule. And don't you dare try to tell me that there was never one of our kind, a wolf, who never took advantage of the power they had over others. I won't believe it. Power corrupts, pick up any history book you want, you'll find examples of it. Those who are able to hold power while controlling it and not letting it corrupt them, those are few and far between and those are the ones you side with."

Seth shook his head, the most recent historical biography he'd been reading coming to mind. He didn't know if she would understand his meaning, but by that point, he no longer cared. Leah was about to draw a line and he only hoped that she would truly think about it before she did.

"Dr. Cullen," Seth said, motioning back toward the vampire watching them. "He's the Abraham Lincoln of his kind. He's trying to fight for a better tomorrow and everyone's telling him it can't be done. Open your damn eyes, Leah. Get over what happened with Sam and fucking open your heart again." Turning around he jogged up the stairs and onto the patio intending to go inside to find something to eat. "Sorry for the language and the fighting, Dr. C," he apologized, Carlisle always having been more than courteous around them. "She wasn't always like this. There was a time before Sam when she used to be a lot like Bella."

"Seth," Carlisle looked at the teen with wonder. "Is that truly how you see me?" he asked unable to reconcile the comparison.

"Well, yeah," he answered with a shrug. "You're logical, fair and compassionate, you try to see both sides of an argument, you look more for a peaceful solution than you do a forceful one and if at all possible, you'd rather be able to turn your enemies into allies. Although from all the reading I've done, I'd have to say that Esme's more like Princess Diana or Jackie Kennedy then like Mary Todd Lincoln."

A soft chime of laughter from the door drew their attention and Seth looked back to see the woman in question standing just outside the open door. She walked toward them, Seth's compliment to them both surprising and pleasing her. Thanking Seth for his kind words, she told him that food was set out on the table and asked if he thought Leah would be joining them inside this time, her continued attempts at giving the girl sandwiches proving unsuccessful.

"I don't know, Mama Cullen," he said, his nickname for her making her smile. "I wish I could say yes, but…ever since Sam, Leah's acted as though it's her against the world. It's as if she can't accept that others are happy and can't let herself be happy. You all don't deserve her attitude and I'm sorry you have to deal with it, especially at a time like this."

"You're very kind, Seth," Esme told him with a smile, "Thank you."

"You're thanking me?" he asked with a smile and a chuckle. "You feed us, give us a place to sleep and take care of us. I should be the one thanking you."

"Go," Esme laughed at him. "Get something to eat," she commanded and pushed the grinning teen toward the door.

Looking back toward the tree line, she found Jacob and Carlisle talking, Leah having disappeared while she was talking to Seth. She wished that the girl would come around, that she could help heal whatever hurt Sam had left behind, but Leah refused to take anything from her. She slept outside in her wolf form, chased and killed rabbits for food and was always kept at least a five-foot distance from any of the Cullen family. She didn't like to admit how much Leah's rejection hurt. She understood that they were natural enemies, and that Leah's continued vigil was only due to Jacob's orders, even still, she wished to break down the barriers and forge some kind of relationship with the girl. Perhaps in time, Esme thought as she turned away and walked back into the house.

**:::::**

"Jasper!" Little Bella squirmed from Emmett's arms and ran toward the southern vampire.

Spinning around when his name was called by the child, Jasper laughed and caught her under the arms, swinging her up into the air. He tossed her up into the air above his head, catching her easily around the waist as she giggled merrily and kicked her short legs. Rosalie came downstairs, stepping onto the floor as Jasper caught the child after tossing her up again. As soon as her eyes lit on Rosalie, the child wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck and peeked out around him at the new person in the room.

"Jasper, who's the pretty lady?" she asked, curling against him tightly in her shyness.

"That's my sister, Rosalie, sweetling," he introduced after turning around.

"Hey, Rose," Alice greeted as she stepped inside the house and Little Bella's eyes widened.

"Rose?" she questioned, the blonde turning her attention on the child. "You're the mean dragon?"

Jasper burst out laughing as he held the girl in his arms, "I'd forgotten about that," he chuckled.

"The mean dragon?" Rosalie questioned as she stepped up to the wide-eyed girl in her brother's arms. "Who said I was a mean dragon?"

Emmett walked inside to set down the boxes he'd been carrying and looked sheepishly at his wife. Admitting to his role in bestowing the title upon her, he tried to appease her by saying that it was a bedtime story meant to entertain the child. Shaking her head as she stepped up to Emmett, Rosalie looked at him with a formidable glower before punching him lightly in the shoulder and pulling him close for a kiss.

"Uncle Emmett!" Little Bella called out to him, extending the syllables of his name. "You forgot my little brother," she told him and he laughed.

"I didn't forget him, Princess," Emmett laughed and stepped forward to tickle her sides while she sat on Jasper's hip. "He's sleeping. Figured it'd be easier to bring in the stuff and let him sleep a little bit longer."

Bella squealed with laughter, kicking her legs while Emmett tickled her sides, the noise bringing the others to investigate the high-pitched noise. Her laughter died down as soon as she saw the others in the room and she once again hid her face against Jasper's neck. Chuckling and rubbing her back, Jasper turned around to see who she was looking at and smiled.

"Aw, Little Bella, you know these two," he said stepping up to Carlisle and Esme. "This is Papa Carlisle," he said and held her small arm out to his adoptive father to shake. "And this," he said turning to Esme, "is Gramma Esme."

"You talked to me on the phone," she said shyly, her cheeks shaded pink with her blush.

"That's right, Little One," Carlisle said as he looked upon the child held on Jasper's hip.

She was tiny and beautiful, her delicate fine features, high cheekbones and rose colored heart-shaped mouth giving her the appearance of a China Doll or perhaps a fairy. Her skin was as naturally pale as their own, her midnight hair falling around her face in natural waves and ringlet curls. She bit her lip as she looked at Carlisle, frowning as she studied him.

"You're not old enough to be a Papa and Gramma," she said and he chuckled at her youthful innocence.

"I'm plenty old enough, my dear," he said with a smile. "Are you hungry? Esme just made a batch of cookies."

"Cookies?" her ice blue eyes widened with delight, her face shining as she leaned toward him.

"Chocolate chip, I believe," Carlisle said as he plucked her from Jasper's arms and carried her into the kitchen.

"Wonderful," Alice said with a shake of her head. "He's giving her sugar. She'll be bouncing off the walls all night."

"Uh, how did you guys get kids?" Jacob asked as he watched Emmett walk in with a baby carrier.

"Long story," the dark haired vampire told him and looked at Rose. "You said there's a nursery? Little guy's not going to wake up for a while and needs to be changed."

"I'll take him," Rose said as she stared down at the newborn child. "What's his name?"

"Uh," Emmett scratched the back of his neck. "We've just been calling him Little Brother. We couldn't find any baby books and his dad hasn't been out of surgery for longer than a few hours, so we haven't really named him yet."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jacob waved his arms to stop the conversation. "How did you all get two kids?"

Alice followed Rosalie up to the nursery with the box of baby clothes as Emmett explained all that happened in Seattle. He told Jacob and Seth of how he had met Little Bella and how her mother had died giving birth to her brother. He explained her father's injuries and that the man had been in three different surgeries already.

"Friends of ours, Carmen and Eleazer, are staying at the hospital waiting for any news," Carlisle said, finishing the melancholy tale.

"You said earlier that the doctors had talked about possible amputation. How would he take care of two kids if that happened, especially a baby?" Jacob asked before shaking his head and taking a step back. "Oh, hell no!"

"Jake!" Seth put his hand in the center of his friend's chest and stared into his eyes. "Stop it, stop acting like Leah and listen. Just listen to me for a moment ok."

"Listen? To you? About this?" Jacob asked looking at Seth as though he'd lost his mind.

"Jake, just listen to me, ok? I know you won't listen to them about this." Jacob looked as though he was going to argue, but after a long tense moment, he blew out a heavy breath and nodded. "Ok, think about this, logically – sort of – for a moment," Seth began calmly, his mind having taken only half a second to understand the Cullen's reasoning that he was now trying to explain to Jacob. He still didn't understand how he had become the voice of reason, but he didn't question it either. "If the kids' father survives the surgery, as a human, but with his legs amputated or with replacement joints implanted, he's going to need at least a year of physical therapy. It's going to be hella hard for him to adjust to being a single father with a lasting disability. More than likely, he would never be able to run with his kids or play with them like a normal father and he would also have to deal with his wife's death while being strong for his daughter. He's going to go through depression, resentment, probably even anger. He's going to feel guilty that she died and that he wasn't there for her when she needed him. We have no idea what his personality is like, those things could make him despondent or even dangerous."

Seth paused, looking hard at Jacob to make certain that his friend and alpha was still listening and understanding what he was saying. Had he looked away from Jacob, he would have seen Carlisle and Esme's stunned expressions, his almost instant understanding of their intentions baffling them. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper stood off to the side, listening in silence their expressions of surprise mirroring their adoptive parents. Not a single one of them had ever thought that Seth of all people would prove to be the mediator, the voice of reason that spoke for them. Even Edward looked surprised as he stood holding Bella tucked against his side, though she looked at Seth with a knowing smile.

"But if he's changed, if he's made into a vampire, then just like Jasper said when he trained us with the newborns; it'll take him a year to adjust to his new life. He'll be stronger; he'll have a full support system to help him with his vegetarian diet, the care of the children, and with his possible pull to the scent of the children's blood. He'll also be better able to protect them, play with them, be a father who can't be hurt or get sick. He won't get tired or frustrated because he needs sleep. He'll be everything that they need and more. You know what it was like growing up with a father in a wheelchair and a mother you never met. Mom told me once that Billy wasn't always so ok with being paralyzed, that he drank when you were younger until dad and Charlie talked to him."

"Shut up, Seth!" Jacob snarled and turned around.

He didn't want to remember the years before he turned seven. He didn't want to remember the pain of his father's impatience, the sting of his harsh and biting words. He heard Edward's intake of breath and his eyes snapped to the telepathic vampire seeing his wide golden eyes. Damnit! Jacob's breathing grew harsher as painful memories of being slapped around for spilling milk and being too clumsy assailed him. The abuse had stopped just before his seventh birthday, but by then he had already had his arm broken once when Billy had grabbed him too hard and spun around in his wheelchair without thinking about the limited space of the hallway. The abuse had stopped and he had been able to bury the memories deep, able to almost forget them, until Seth had brought them back to life a few moments ago.

"No! No!" he shouted at Edward, pointing his finger at him before spinning and running out the back door.

"What just happened?" Rosalie asked, confused by the wolf's reaction and sudden departure.

"Jacob was abused when he was a lot younger. He thought he hid it from me," Bella said as she leaned against Edward. "I let him believe I didn't know, but I told Charlie. I saw the bruises on his arms from being held too tight, the way he would flinch at doors being slammed or Charlie raising his voice. Charlie was never mad, he would just forget where in the house we were," Bella looked down at her hand as she picked at the cast. "Mom moved us before I knew whether or not the abuse had stopped."

"It stopped," Edward told her gently, kissing her temple. "When he was seven."

"Two years?" Bella looked heartbroken at the revelation. "He had to suffer for two more years?"

"Billy got help, Bella," Edward said. "You made sure of that when you told Charlie."

"Yeah, but Billy did it again didn't he?" Bella asked, looking up at Edward as she fought back the tears glistening in her eyes. "He's been different, more protective of himself lately. He doesn't joke anymore."

Edward kissed her temple and looked at his father. Did he tell Bella that Billy had thrown Jake out or did he wait and let Bella talk to Jacob on her own? He looked down into her brown eyes, the sadness within begging him for an answer. Dropping his head down he kissed her lips and pulled her tighter into his embrace, rubbing her back as he told her what had happened. Her horrified and pained expression pulled at his heart and once again she did what he least expected.

"Jasper," Bella called out to him desperately. "Please, help Jacob," she asked.

The southern vampire smiled at her as he stepped up and cupped her cheek in his palm. "I'll do my best," he promised and kissed her brow.

He disappeared out the door with Esme following behind him. Little Bella appeared a moment later with Alice following behind her, the look on the pixie haired vampire's face comical in her frustration. The child's face was smeared with chocolate and she giggled as she ran away from Alice who was trying to be careful to use human actions around her. They had not broached the subject of what they were with the child and she wasn't sure when they would.

"Who left her alone with the cookies?" Alice asked as she threw the damp washcloth in her hand to Emmett who was closest to the giggling girl.

"I guess I did," Carlisle said after a moment, his brows quirking. "How many did she eat?"

"All of them."

**:::::**

"Call Carlisle," Eleazer told Carmen as the doctor walked back through the surgical ward doors. "Tell him he needs to make the paperwork look good. They're pushing to amputate because of the staff infection. We can't change a man with no legs it would be pointless. He wouldn't be able to hunt."

Carmen was already dialing Carlisle's cell before her husband had finished his thought and explained the situation quickly as soon as he answered. She spoke with him for a few moments longer before dialing Tanya's cell and informing her of the situation. She nodded at Eleazer, her husband hearing the phone conversations perfectly and he pursed his lips. As long as they were able to get him moved out of the hospital before some overzealous surgeon decided to take his legs, they would be able to give him a new life, a better life.

**:::::**

"They're stalling," the surgical intern told the seasoned doctor at his side. "This man could lose more than just his legs if we wait any longer!"

"Doctor Benson!" the older man's voice was terse, commanding the intern's attention. "They're moving him to private care. In the past few months there have been new treatments, granted they're still considered experimental, but they're proving effective to not only treat but also reverse the effects of staff infection. If this man's legs can be saved, then we will stand aside and let him be taken into private care where those treatments are being administered. We heal, Benson, we do not cut just because we can."

"Experimental treatments? We can do something now!" he shouted from inside the older man's office.

"You will do nothing!" the man issued the command.

He knew Doctor Carlisle Cullen, he had also known him fifty years ago in Baltimore and Carlisle hadn't changed one bit. He had his suspicions about what the man was, but he wasn't going to say anything. Carlisle was a good man, a decent man and he remembered how kind and compassionate he had been. If he could offer this man, something that modern medicine couldn't, if he could heal him, than he wouldn't stand in his way.

**:::::**

It didn't take long for Esme and Jasper to find Jacob. He was standing in the form they knew best, tears running down his russet cheeks as he repeatedly slammed his fists into the rough bark of a wide old oak tree. They could smell his blood, knew that he had beaten his fists until the skin over his knuckles was broken and bleeding. He had never dealt with the memories of his abuse, choosing instead to bury the memories until he had convinced himself that it had only been a nightmare. Jasper focused his talent on Jacob as they neared him, calming the storming mix of rage, hurt and betrayal just enough to stop him from punching the tree.

"Oh, Jacob," Esme spoke his name with sorrow and concern as she stepped up beside him at took his hands gently in hers. "Sweetheart, you've pretty much torn the skin completely off your knuckles. We need to get you back to Carlisle so that he can treat this."

"I thought I'd finally made myself forget," he said shaking his head as he pulled his hands from hers to scrub his fingers through his short hair. "And then Seth…Damnit!"

"No," Esme caught his wrists, her iron grip unbreakable when he moved to punch the tree again. "That's not the way to deal with it."

"If you need to fight out your emotions," Jasper said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I'm certain that Emmett would be happy to spar with you. But boxing against a tree is not so good when you can still bleed."

"What bloodsucker?" Jacob turned around, directing his anger at Jasper. "You want some of this?"

"God no," he pulled back unable to hide his momentary disgust. "You smell…unappetizing."

Jacob ground his teeth together, as he tried to fight away the lingering tears. He wanted to scream and rage. Covering his eyes with one hand, he took in a deep breath and felt himself calm almost immediately. It confused him that his anger was able to abate so easily until he remembered what Jasper's talent was.

"It's mostly you," the southern vampire said when faced with Jacob's pointed stare. "Granted I am helping, but only slightly."

Esme stepped around in front of Jacob, facing him as she looked into his eyes. His size made him seem older than he was and she often forgot that he was only sixteen. Cupping her hands around his face, she stared into his dark eyes and chaffed her thumbs over his tear stained cheeks.

"You have us, Jacob," she promised him. "You have us."

Uttering a terse laugh, he shook his head. "Doesn't that fly in the face of everything rational?" he asked referring to their natural enemy status.

Esme laughed gently. "Don't we both, being what we are, fly in the face of everything rational? Aren't we supposed to just be myths and legends?"

Jacob laughed and nodded as he scrubbed his hand tiredly over his face. Esme moved to stand at his side, her hand rubbing his back in a soothing manner. Wrapping her arm around his waist and letting him lean against her, she stepped forward, directing him silently to walk as Jasper led the way slowly back to the house.

"Yeah, yeah we are."

"Let's go home, Jacob."

**:::::**

"You realize, of course," Alice said as she looked at Carlisle, "that this is entirely your fault for leaving her alone in the kitchen."

They both stood watching as the tiny child ran around the living room. Her inability to be still had been amusing…three hours ago. Now though, as they watched her run around trying to burn off the sugar induced energy rush, it was nearing ten o'clock at night. She needed to get to bed, but sleep seemed to be a long way off. Not even Jasper had been able to calm the hyperactive child.

"I have treated plenty of children over my years as a doctor," Carlisle said with a shake of his head. "Yet I have never been around one after they ingested copious amounts of sugar."

"Oh no," Alice shook her head tightly and pressed her lips together. "This isn't copious amounts, granted she ate the entire plate of cookies," she said as she watched Jasper catch the tiny girl before she could bump into the coffee table. "No, she had a similar reaction to a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. The smallest amount of sugar makes her bounce around like some kind of cartoon character."

Carlisle's eyes widened as he nodded his understanding. Some children were more sensitive than others were to sugars and apparently, Bellaniece was one of them. Nearing the glass wall, the child turned and sprinted toward Carlisle as fast as she could. When she was five feet away from him, she bent her legs and launched herself into the air toward him. Without thought, his arms shot out at full vampire speed to catch her in the air before she could fall. He stood still for a moment holding the child aloft in the air as she giggled madly.

"No more sugar," he declared as he studied her and pulled her close, sitting her on his hip. "No more sugar," he repeated and looked down into her angelic, if somewhat wild, face. "Why don't we go read a story, hmm?" he asked her.

Little Bella's eyes widened and she bounced excitedly on his hip. "The brave knight, Jasper and the mean dragon, Rose?" she asked as she clapped her hands.

"Emmett, what kind of things have you been telling this child?" Carlisle asked with a laugh.

"What? I didn't have a book, had to make something up to get the munchkin to sleep," he said with a shrug.

"How about The Secret Garden?" Carlisle said as he walked up stairs with the child still seated on his hip. "I have it on good authority that it's a fit for all ages."

He walked into the nursery and found Rose to be sitting in the rocking chair cradling Little Bella's brother in her arms as he cried. She looked up at Carlisle helplessly, her golden eyes sad and begging him for help. Promising that he would return shortly, he carried the child into his bedroom where Esme lay with Bella in between herself and Edward as she read Wuthering Heights.

"Esme, would you mind reading to her as well?" he asked as Edward reached out for the young child.

"Not at all," his wife smiled as she watched Edward tuck Bellaniece in his arms, making certain that she was kept away from Bella's more serious injuries.

Nodding his thanks and telling both his human charges goodnight, he backed out of the room and returned to the nursery. The infant was still crying, seeming to be inconsolable as Rosalie rocked him slowly. Alice had told her earlier that he cried almost constantly when he was awake, her belief being that it was because he knew on an instinctual level that his mother was dead. When Rosalie informed Carlisle of that, he frowned and held his arms out to take the infant.

"I've changed him, fed him, burped him, done everything that I can think of, but nothing will settle him down," she said as she stood beside Carlisle and watched him lay the tightly wrapped infant on the changing table.

Carlisle unwrapped the blanket from around the child and watched as his tiny legs pulled up toward his chest. An infant this young shouldn't be suffering from colic, and he gently moved his hands over the baby's abdomen as he felt for signs of gas trapped in his stomach. Shaking his head and frowning, a thought occurred to him and he asked to see the container of powdered infant formula. Looking at the contents of the instant breast milk substitute, he pursed his lips. This mixture was said to be the closest to human milk one could get without actually being human milk. It even included the same fats and enzymes as lactose.

Turning his head, he found Alice to be standing in the doorway before he had even called her name. Smiling at her, he asked that she make a run to the store to pick up a brand of formula made specifically for infants that were lactose intolerant. If the new formula solved the problem, then they had their answer and he would be far more comfortable and crying less often. Checking his diaper before swaddling the infant back in the blue cloth, he handed the baby back to Rosalie and watched as she settled back down into the rocking chair.

"Rosalie," he spoke her name softly as he leaned back against the changing table. "Are you alright with this?" he asked in reference to the children.

"It's what I've always wanted," she said smiling down on the boy in her arms, her expression more peaceful and happy than Carlisle could ever remember. "I wanted a family, a husband, a baby. He may not be my child, but he still needs my – our – care. I have Emmett, my eternal love," she said and smiled as her love walked into the room. "And, although there are times when I would love to be on my own, I have a family that I love and adore. I won't grow old, or have grandchildren running around my feet, but I have this." She looked up from the child and offered her adoptive father a sad smile. "I never let what happened with Royce go. I never moved past what he did to me, not really. I just buried it, tried to ignore it, let my anger take over. Kate went through something similar long before she was changed. She's been helping me to finally move on and accept what happened so that I can find peace."

"Could we have done anything different for you?" Carlisle asked as he knelt down beside the rocking chair she sat in, pained by what he believed to be his negligence in her care.

"No," Rosalie shook her head. "I was too angry to let anyone near. I blamed everyone and never stopped to look at myself and see how I was acting. I was pushing all of you away, blaming you because I couldn't have the human life that Royce took from me."

Looking up when she saw movement near the door, Rosalie's eyes widened and she giggled. Edward rolled his eyes at her amusement; Little Bella was wrapped around his torso with both her arms and her legs. She was asleep, but even still, the child refused to let go of him. He tried to lay her down in the toddler bed three times before giving up and sitting down on the half size bed.

"So, you just have power over girls named 'Bella' then?" Rosalie asked with a laugh, Carlisle and Emmett chuckling.

"She did the same thing to me just about every night," Emmett told his brother. "Give her about three hours and then you should be able to lay her down."

"As soon as she found a comfortable spot she was out like a light," Edward told his father still amazed by how quickly the child had gone from exuberant energy to sleeping like the dead.

"They do that," Carlisle chuckled. "Young children can fall asleep very quickly when they feel safe and loved.

"She still doesn't understand about her mother," Edward said after a long moment of silence. "She kept thinking that her mother would be back once her father was better. She has no concept of the meaning of death. Or she's simply refusing to accept it."

"She's still very young," Rosalie said as the infant in her arms finally quieted and fell asleep. "No matter how many times we explain it to her, she may not understand until her mother fails to return. That's when she'll grieve, when she realizes that her mother isn't coming back. What about her father?"

"Kate and Tanya went to Seattle a few hours ago to move him back to Denali with them," Carlisle said as Jasper stepped into the room with Alice beside him. "Eleazar will call as soon as he has made it through the transition. They will explain to him what happened to his wife and ask if they had a name picked out for their son. The children will be staying with us for the next year until he is ready to take them again."

"And during that year?" Emmett asked. "I'm sure Little Bella's going to want to talk to her father, if not visit with him."

"We'll see what we can arrange," Carlisle said as Rosalie stood and moved to put the infant in the crib before Emmett stopped her.

"You've been monopolizing my boy, woman," he told her and took the slumbering infant, cradling him in his arms as he stood next to his wife.

"It's not spoiling," Edward said as he looked at his father with a grin. "It's love and affection. Big difference."

Carlisle shook his head as he smiled. No, not spoiling, not yet. When the women in his family, perhaps even Emmett, bought out FAO Schwartz, then he supposed could consider the children spoiled. Jacob stepped up to the open door, watching in silence as the Cullen family within cared for the two sleeping children. How was it that he kept forgetting that they were a family in the truest sense? The sting of jealousy burned through him for only an instant before it was gone and he couldn't help but wish that he had had the Cullen's to turn to when he was as young as the girl was. Not one of the Cullen's would ever raise a hand to either of the children, their patience and love knowing no boundaries. Why couldn't he have had that?

Sam refused to see this side of the Cullen's. He didn't want to see the kindness, the compassion and caring, or the love that was shared between them. He knew that the Voultori were still a threat, but in a way, so was the pack he had left. Looking at Edward, he found the man to be watching him, no doubt reading his every thought.

_I won't let Sam or those other bloodsuckers destroy this. _Jacob projected his thoughts to Edward and watched as he nodded. Nodding once when Edward mouthed 'thank you' to him, Jacob turned away and returned to the floor below. Seth needed to sleep tonight and he was ready to hunt. He would patrol the woods with Leah and guard the Cullen's home. Seth would be the sentry inside the house, guarding the Cullen's from within tonight.

Calling out to Seth as she stepped out the back door, he told the younger teen what he wanted him to do and stood aside as he walked into the house and closed the door. Seth understood so much more than what was on the surface, his ability for understanding all sides of a situation and his impeccable control over his temper making him a natural and highly prized second in command. Leah's temper was too volatile for him to even consider her for the position, though he doubted she would want it. Phasing into his wolf form as he leapt off the patio, Jacob made a circuit around the house, the lines of wolf telepathy telling him that Leah had already known he would chose Seth as his second long before he had.

He still couldn't tell if she would come around and change her attitude toward the Cullens. She was so angry at everything all the time. His wish that she would allow her heart to heal would go unanswered and he knew that. Perhaps the only thing Leah had left was the fight. She didn't seem ready to let herself heal. He only hoped that in time Esme would be able to break through Leah's tough exterior and bring back the happy laughing girl that he had seen through Seth's memories of their youth.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The cells were darker, richer, the red color so brilliant it looked like wine or satin. They moved faster than normal. The cells were energetic, vibrating with a life force that was almost tangible. The light beneath the slide glinted off the silver of the scalpel as it moved beneath the microscope, the blade carefully catching the barest edge of a single red blood cell, nicking the cell. Long pale fingers set the scalpel aside, the golden eyes never leaving the binocular lens of the medical microscope. Turning the dial, he sharpened the focus to one-hundred times magnification and watched as the torn red blood cell stitched itself back together before his eyes.

Nodding to himself as he pulled away from the microscope and removed the slide, he made detailed notes as to his observations in the leather bound journal he used for his 'classified' studies. Taking up a new scalpel and moving toward the girl sitting on the chair nearby, he smiled and shook his head at the look of enthused curiosity on her face. She held out her arm and raised her sleeve to reveal the healing gash that was stitched carefully so as to minimize any scarring that may occur. His sutures were better than most practiced plastic surgeons, the centuries he had to practice making his technique flawless.

"I want to see it, whatever it is you find," she said excitedly, the science of it fascinating her in a way she didn't fully understand.

"It's blood," he told her with an amused grin as he carefully scraped a few damaged skin cells from near the sutures. "Blood tends to make you ill."

"I'll be fine, I promise," she assured.

Holding the scalpel carefully in one hand, he turned around and took a fresh slide from the box on the table with his other hand. Smoothing the cells onto the slide, he placed it on the stage plate and set the scalpel aside before bending over the instrument. Carlisle looked down into the binocular lens of the microscope, his left hand casually resting along the scope of the device as his right hand held an eye dropper half filled with Seth's wolf blood. Adjusting the focal dial of the scientific instrument, he brought the damaged cells scraped from Bella's lacerated arm into striking clarity. The viscous venom that ran through his body, lubricating cells and joints where once there had been blood and tears meant that he never had to blink to moisten his eyes, but he did so out of habit.

The darker, richer cells of Seth's blood mixed with Bella's and Carlisle watched in astonishment and curious wonder as they engulfed each of the damaged or torn cells before releasing them a few seconds later completely healthy and intact. Smiling and stepping aside, he held out his arm for Bella to join him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she bent down to look through the eyepiece. She looked up at him after a moment, her brow quirking in question. Kissing her forehead, he took a new slide and repeated the process of taking a scraping from her arm. Placing the prepared slide on the stage plate, he instructed her to look through the instrument and waited until she was ready before adding a drop of Seth's blood to her damaged cells.

"Is this really happening?" Bella asked without looking up from the microscope. "Am I really seeing this?"

"You are," Carlisle confirmed with a smile as he watched her continue to study the blood beneath the instrument.

"This is amazing," she said, finally looking up. "Have you told Seth?"

"Not yet," he said as he handed her a pen and his journal. "Would you like to add any observations?"

"I'm not a doctor," Bella said with a confused shake of her head. "I'm not even a scientist."

"I believe you see more than you realize," he told her and placed the pen in her palm.

"Are you sure?" she asked as he slid the journal in front of her.

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't," he smiled and smoothed his hand down over her hair. "Write down your notes, Bella. I'm going to go find Seth and tell him what we've found."

She nodded and looked down at the notes on the open page in front of her. His handwriting was so neat, the delicate curves and swirls bespoke of the time he grew up in, the calligraphy old world and artistic. This was his natural handwriting, the script he used when writing notes or papers that only he or his family would see. She knew this because she had seen her chart from the hospital and his notes made in crisp, clean lines and gentle curves, fluid and perfectly carved as though he had practiced writing in a modern hand.

"Hey there."

Bella looked up at the sound of Emmett's voice sounding from the doorway. Her eyes widened as a brilliant smile lit upon her face and she dropped the journal and pen to the tabletop before running over to him. Emmett laughed as he caught Bella against his chest and hugged her as tight as he dared, folding his body down over hers as he engulfed her in his arms. He felt her arms around him, the way she tried to hold him tightly, her casted arm interfering with her efforts.

"I've missed you," she said as pressed her face against his chest and breathed in deeply.

"I've been back for days now, baby girl," he told her, leaning back just enough to see her face.

"Maybe, but you've been busy," she told him with a pout and he laughed. "The children are adorable, but they're monopolizing my big brother."

Emmett gave a boisterous laugh as he pulled her back against his chest and rubbed his hand over her back. Kissing her hair, he stepped back and held her at arm's length with his hands on her shoulders.

"Let me have a look at you," he said as his eyes ran over her face and down her arms. "You look better," he said with a nod. "You look a lot better actually. You've been eating more," he said as he lifted her right arm and looked at the healing cuts and bruises. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"For what?" she asked, truly confused by his apology and the mournful tone of his voice.

"I promised Charlie I'd protect you," he said as he dropped his hands from her and stepped over to the table. "You got hurt," he said as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Emmett," Bella shook her head as she walked over to stand by his side. "You couldn't have known. Alice is the one who sees the future and even she didn't know. You can't blame yourself for this. I don't blame you for this; no one blames you for this. Please?" she asked him as she touched his face, cupped his cheeks to tip his face up to hers. "Please don't blame yourself."

Releasing a heavy breath as he pulled her down to sit astride his lap, Emmett hugged Bella close and closed his eyes as he took comfort in the steady thrum of her heartbeat. There were still moments when he looked at her that all he could see was her stumbling through the darkness. It was hard for him to see her and know that she was going to be alright when he had been the one who found her broken and bruised in the icy rain. He smiled against her shoulder when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, the warmth of her still human body surrounding him.

Looking at the table when she rested her cheek on his head, she caught sight of the microscope and pulled back. Emmett questioned her sudden movement and chuckled when she slapped her hand against his chest. Sliding off his lap, Bella took his hand and led him to the table.

"You've got to see this," she said as she took a clean slide from the box and picked up the scalpel from the table.

He watched her closely as she took a scraping from her arm, his body stiff with apprehension. He knew that she was being careful, knew that she was fully aware of what she was doing, but it didn't help to silence his fear any. She was human, delicate, breakable, extremely fragile in comparison to him and he was afraid that she would harm herself. He watched her prepare the slide and place it under the microscope.

"Take a look," she instructed and waited as he moved toward the scientific instrument.

"What am I looking at?" he asked her as he bent low to stare into the lens.

"Those are my cells, you see how damaged they are?" she asked and saw him stiffen as he pulled back. "Emmett?" she touched his back, saw the tight lines of his face. "What's wrong?" she asked as she set the dropper down carefully so as not to spill the blood inside the tiny glass tube.

He didn't want to look at her damaged cells. All they were to him was a reminder of his failure to protect her. She was hurt; badly hurt and it had been his job to protect her.

"You almost died, Bella," he said, his voice low and powerful. "You were so cold," he told her as he looked at her, his eyes seeing her as she had been that night. "I caught you when you fell. You were freezing cold. You had blood on you, but you weren't bleeding, your blood was frozen to your clothes. Your cuts, the bruises, your wrist…God, Bella, your lips, your face were almost blue because of the cold. Do you know how long it took us to warm you up?"

"I'm here, Em," she said as she stepped up to him and touched his arm. "I'm right here."

"Do you know how scared I was? How scared we all were?" he asked as he tried to tamp down the irrational fear that refused to leave him.

"I know, Emmett," she said as she nodded. "I know because I felt the same fear when all of you faced down against the newborn army. Edward promised me that it would be easy for you, that it wasn't really a fight at all, but I was scared out of my mind the whole time and doing everything I could to make everyone think I was fine. When I saw Victoria grab Edward's head, when I saw Riley hold him so that he couldn't fight and I saw the cracks form, I spilled my own blood to save him. I was terrified, but at that moment when he was about to die, everything came to a standstill, a single moment of absolute clarity. I had no life, no future without Edward, and I had no family without all of you. I didn't matter, my life didn't matter, I couldn't let any of you die."

Bella stopped talking, drawing in a deep breath as she moved closer and stepped into the circle of Emmett's open arms. He wrapped her tightly in his embrace, held her close as he folded his head down over hers, shielding her with his body from fears he couldn't see. Neither of them had seen the rest of the Cullen family in the doorway, their raised voices and topic of conversation having drawn the others near. Even Seth and Jacob were there listening as the two talked, unaware that they weren't alone. Edward clenched his jaw as he watched his brother hold his lover, protecting them both from their fears of the past. Bella had never once confessed her fears to him, never told him how terrified she had been and he knew that in her own way she had believed it best, thinking that she was being strong for him. But it was Edward's job to be strong for her.

"Very soon I will be one of you," Bella said as she looked up at Emmett, "and then these Volturi had better watch their backs, because if they come after my family, you and I are going to make them regret it."

"Damn right we will, tiger," he told her with pride. "Damn right we will."

**:::::**

Billy yelled his voice scratchy and angry. He didn't speak any words, he just opened his mouth and released his pent up frustrations in a deep primal scream. His voice cut out after a few moments and he looked down at the bottle in his hand. His face screwed up in a twist of rage and he threw the bottle as hard as he could at the wall. How could he do this? How could he dive back into the bottle and drown himself in the whiskey? It took him two years, two very long and hard years to get himself cleaned up and sober the first time he'd done this.

He smelled like whiskey, his clothes smelled like whiskey, his breath smelled like whiskey. Turning around sharply, he directed his chair toward the back of the house and wheeled himself into the bathroom. Harry Clearwater had a heart attack, Charlie Swan had died on the operating table, and what did he do? He had turned back to the bottle and drowned himself in whiskey until he was nearly pickled with the alcohol. Reaching into the specialized shower stall, he turned the taps and ran the shower, waiting for the water to warm up as he removed his clothes.

Through the meetings he had gone to, he had been told to call his sponsor in times like these; the problem was Harry had been his sponsor. He didn't have anyone to call to talk about the alcohol with or what he had done because of its influence. Hissing and grinding his teeth against the strain of moving himself from his chair into the bench in the shower stall, he pulled the frosted glass door closed and realized that he hadn't eaten anything in nearly three days.

"When whiskey replaces food, you know you're a stupid drunk," he said to no one as he grabbed a bottle of body wash.

He spent the next fifteen minutes scrubbing his body down again and again with the soap, trying as hard as he could to rid himself of the stench of alcohol. The words he had spoken to Jacob, to his son, the way he had treated him came back to him in startling clarity and he hated himself more for it. He had called his son a monster and why, because he was jealous. He was jealous that his son could walk and he couldn't. He was jealous that his son had gotten the wolf gene, the ability to phase and run through the forests like their ancestors had. He was jealous that his son had people to turn to, no not people, vampires. He was jealous that his son had a support system while he didn't.

Reaching out for the bottle of shampoo, he wished for a do over. He would do anything to take back the last two weeks. Charlie and Harry hadn't just been his friends; they'd been Jacob's friends, too. Harry Clearwater had been an honorary uncle to Jacob, Charlie had been his godfather, and what had Billy done when his son needed him? He'd thrown his son out and pushed him as far away as he could. He didn't know if Jacob would ever forgive him, or even be willing to listen to him, but he needed to talk to him. He needed to at least try to apologize.

It took him longer to dry off and dress than it normally did, his mind too distracted to move quickly. Picking up the cordless phone, he looked at it as though the device held the answers he was looking for. Jacob didn't have a cell phone, Seth didn't either, who was he supposed to call? Closing his eyes and sighing when the answer came to him, he supposed he should've known all along. Dialing a number he knew by heart, Billy waited for the line to pick up.

"Hello, Doctor Cullen. It's Billy Black; do you think maybe we could talk?"

**:::::**

"I want cake," little Bella said as she trotted behind Esme, following her into the kitchen.

"No cake," Esme said with an amused grin as she lifted the tiny child to sit on the counter beside her while she prepared dinner for those who still needed to eat. "Papa Carlisle said so," she told her.

Taking out the wooden cutting board, Esme set it down on the counter before reaching into the fridge. Pulling out a bowl of bell peppers and assorted vegetables, she set it down in the sink and reached for a knife. Laughing at the look of absolute defiance on the girl's face Esme asked her what was wrong.

"That's not cake or cookies, those are icky!" she proclaimed with all the seriousness that a child her age could have.

"Icky?" Bella asked as she stepped into the kitchen. "I swear, some little tyke stole my big brother and then my name," she joked and looked at the little girl sitting on the counter. "So, what's icky?"

"Those!" the child pointed a stubby finger at the green bell pepper Esme was carefully slicing into thin strips.

"These aren't icky," Bella told the child as she snagged a few strips and munched on them. "Besides that, Bellaniece, I'll have you know that Esme makes the best food anywhere."

"Bella! My name's, Bella!" the girl proclaimed stubbornly and looked at the bowl of cut vegetables that were growing higher. "Vegetables are icky."

"They're not icky," Bella said with a laugh and took a few carrot sticks from the bowl before Esme shooed her away from the bowl.

"Go," Esme laughed at her eighteen year old human daughter and motioned her away from the counter.

"Fine, fine," Bella said as she moved over to the table with her small handful of snacks. "So, Bella," she said the child's name slowly, pausing as she realized she would have to adjust to two people with the same name. "Why are vegetables icky?"

"They're not sweet," she said and both Esme and Bella laughed.

"Well, no, I guess they're not sweet in the traditional sense," Bella said, "but they're still good and have a lot of different flavors. Try a carrot."

"A carrot?" little Bella asked and took the orange vegetable stick from Esme's hand.

Her little face screwed up in an interesting mixture of stubbornness and curiosity. Taking a small bite, she chewed the carrot and thought about the flavor. It wasn't sweet, but it wasn't horrible either. There was an almost sweetness to it, as though it had the possibility of being sweet. But it still wasn't cake or cookies and that was what she wanted. Holding her hand out for something else, Esme handed her a few kernels of sweet corn that she had stripped off the cobs for the meal she was making. Trying the yellow pieces, she found that she liked those quite a bit.

"Haven't you had corn before, sweetie?" Esme asked the child, concerned that she didn't seem to know the flavor of the vegetables.

"No. Mommy couldn't cook, she made frozen pizzas and macaroni and cheese though. And she made cookies, lots and lots of cookies."

Esme frowned at that. What had this child eaten before now? Had any of it been healthy at all?

"What about your father, Sweetheart? Could he cook?" Esme asked and handed little Bella a piece of broccoli to try.

"That tastes like grass," the child said, her face screwing up in a disgruntled pout.

"But it's good for you," Rosalie told her from the entryway as she walked into the kitchen. "Emmett has officially stolen Liam away from me. Baby wouldn't stop crying until he held him."

Walking over to where little Bella sat on the counter; Rosalie put a hand on either side of the child and looked into her eyes. Narrowing her eyes on the girl, Rosalie studied her face and waited. She knew how little Bella reacted to her stare downs, and in a way it was a fun game that was just between them. After a few moments, the child reached up and drew an invisible smiley face on Rosalie's forehead. A smile pulled at Rosalie's lips and she laughed.

"You need your vegetables, little one," she told Bella as she drew her finger down the center of the child's forehead to the tip of her nose. "They're good for you and they'll help you grow big."

"And then I'll have bumps like you?" the child asked and Rosalie pulled back, standing up and turning to Esme.

"Did you hear that, Esme?" Rosalie asked as Bella giggled from where she sat at the table. "We have bumps."

"Bumps?" Alice asked from the doorway as she stepped in from outside. "That's a new one on me."

"Hey, where's Jasper?" Bella asked as Alice joined her at the table. "I haven't seen him at all today."

"Carlisle took him along with Edward and Jacob over to see Billy. From what Jasper told me, Billy called Carlisle and they talked for a long time. He wanted to see Jacob, but he also understands that we've been Jacob's support system, so he asked Carlisle to come with Jacob and bring whoever he thought he needed. Edward went for obvious reasons, but Jasper went so that maybe he could help be an emotional buffer. The thing is, with Seth and Leah staying here, we don't know how Sam and his pack are going to react."

"And you can't see anything because of the wolves," Bella said frowning in worry as she stared down at her hands. "They could be in danger."

"Billy asked them there, Bella," Esme said as she turned away from the counter and looked at her. "That will count for something. They are there by request, they're not breaking the treaty and Billy is still the leader of the tribal council."

Bella nodded, trying her best to make it seem that she was fine with the news, but her nervousness was clear to Alice. The pixie haired vampire tried to reassure her quietly, but no amount of words would settle her nerves. She needed to see her love, her adoptive father and brother. She needed to touch them, to hug them, to know for herself without any question that they were safe. The fight with the newborns, the threats made by Jane and the other Volturi, the silent threat posed by Sam and the other wolves who couldn't understand Jacob's and Seth's points of view, all of these things scared her.

"I'm sorry," Bella said as she stood up from the table. "I need a few moments."

Rosalie and Alice watched as she fled from the room. Esme frowned as she added the peppers and onions to the beef stock around the venison roast in the large roasting pan. There wasn't anything that she could say or do to assure Bella that they were safe. Her fears were Bella's fears and she couldn't honestly say that she was any less worried than Bella was. Adding the cut vegetables to another pan and drizzling olive oil and seasonings over the mix of the potatoes, corn, carrots and yellow squash and placed the pan back in the fridge and put the roast in the oven.

"Dinner will be ready in about three hours," Esme said and helped little Bella down to floor. "How about you try one of big Bella's favorite snacks?"

"What's that?" the child asked as she followed Esme around the kitchen.

"Graham crackers and peanut butter, she also likes applesauce. Have you ever had either of those?" she asked as she lifted the child to sit on her hip.

"I've had peanut butter. I eat it with a spoon," little Bella looked down at her hand that was clutching Esme's shirt front. "Mommy and daddy didn't have a lot of food or money for awhile. Mommy said that daddy got laid and we had to save for something."

"Laid off," Rosalie corrected, trying to hide her smile at the child's unintentional slip. "I think you meant laid off. What did he do?"

"I don't know. Mommy said he was a liar. If somebody did something than Daddy had to go to a man in a black dress and lie to him so that the person didn't go to jail."

Alice bit her lips as she ducked her head and tried hard not to laugh out loud. Slapping her hand over her mouth she fled the room, but not before her laughter sounded. Her father was a lawyer, a defense lawyer of some kind from the sounds of it, but to hear the child describe it was hilarious. Lawyer became 'liar' and the judge became 'a man in a black dress'.

**:::::**

Jacob stood in the muddy earth in front of his house looking at his father. His arms were crossed over his bare chest, his teeth clenched against the desire to revert to his wolf form. He had listened to Carlisle explain and mediate, listened to his father apologize, but the pain was still there, the hurt and betrayal were still there. He wanted to forgive his father, but how could he trust that it wouldn't happen again? A sense of calm settled over him, not enough to wash away his feelings, but enough to take the edge off so that he could focus on the situation at hand. Nodding gratefully at Jasper he turned back to his father.

"I know you want to make amends, but I don't know that I can do that just yet. What you did, what you said, you didn't just hurt me. Harry was your sponsor, Charlie was your friend. I stayed with Charlie during some of your more…difficult times getting sober. Do you think either one of them would want you diving back in the bottle?" Jacob shook his head as he backed away. "I want my Dad back, but I don't want this…drunk in my life. How long have you been sober this time?"

"Since this morning," Billy answered, the shame he felt clear in his expression and voice. "I'm trying Jake. What do you want me to do?"

Jacob turned his attention on Edward, rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for the nod that would tell him he had pulled the thoughts from his mind. He stood silent, watching as Edward spoke in tones too low for him or Billy to hear as he spoke his request to Carlisle. The blond vampire looked up at Jacob and nodded once before turning his attention back to Billy.

"I need to know, for myself, for certain that you haven't been drinking. I'd like Carlisle to be your sponsor, or physician or whatever it is that you need so that you stay sober. He's been there when I needed someone to talk to; he's a good man, regardless of what he is. I'll visit when I can, but I won't move back in until you've been sober for at least thirty days. I need to trust that your sobriety isn't just a lapse in drowning yourself in whiskey." Jacob looked down at his crossed arms and shook his head. "I know that sounded cruel, but it's how I feel."

"You're being honest, Jake, that's all I asked for," Billy said and nodded. "I have a question for you, Doctor Cullen and you're well within your rights to tell me that it's none of my business," his voice trailed off.

"Speak your mind, Billy," Carlisle said kindly.

"When I called you this morning, I could've sworn I heard a baby crying."

**:::::**

"A vampire?" he looked at the man beside him and laughed. "That's preposterous, you know. Vampire's don't exist."

Eleazer clenched his jaw as he released a frustrated sigh and tossed the newborn the morning's newspaper. Instructing the man to look at the date, he then asked him to explain how he was in the hospital less than a week ago undergoing major surgery on both of his legs only to be completely injury free now. He asked him to explain away the burning in the back of his throat, or the way that he hadn't been hungry for human food since he woke.

"You're asking me to believe in a legend," the man said with a shake of his head. "Look, my great uncle Emmett disappeared back in the thirties, but it was discovered that he'd been attacked by a bear. So you see? People don't just disappear, there's always a logical reason."

"Go," Elezear finally commanded. "Go stand in the sunlight," he said and pointed to the bay window to their side.

Throwing his arms up in frustration, the man moved and stood in the bright sunlight. He didn't feel any burning as all the movies and books told him he should and when he raised his hand to point at the golden eyed man, his own eyes widened. His skin was pale as snow, as death, and it was sparkling as though he was made of diamond dust.

"What the fuck?" Lukas McCarty shouted and turned his hands over in the sunlight. "You turned me into Tinkerbell?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose with an elegant long fingered hand, Eleazer bit back the urge to growl. Obviously, this wasn't working. Telling Lukas that he was a vampire, explaining to him about the changes wasn't working. He'd been in a chemically induced coma when he had been taken from the hospital; the doctor's attempts to help his pain and keep him still during his down time between surgeries had effectively erased his memory of the turning. Because of that, he didn't believe in what he was.

"Are you hungry?" Eleazer asked as he studied the newborn in front of him. "You're only a few hours old, surely you must be burning with thirst."

"I'm thirty three years old," Lukas corrected and watched the man shake his head. "What?"

"Time to hunt. Maybe you'll believe me then."

Moving at his full speed, Eleazer crossed the room in less than a tenth of a second and stood behind Lukas. With his hand on the man's shoulder he pushed him through the house and out the back door into the surrounding forest. He envied Carlisle his patience and compassion, feeling his own at the breaking point when the new member of his coven asked why they didn't have guns if they were going hunting. Seeing a family of deer not too far away, he instructed Lukas to close his eyes and breathe in deeply.

Lukas did as told and felt his mouth grow wet, the burning in the back of his throat growing hotter. Something was close by and whatever it was, it smelled delicious. He didn't think, didn't focus on what he was doing as he shot across the forest and sank his teeth deep into the neck of the doe. He didn't realize what he was doing until the animal kicked him, the action cracking the hook and snapping the leg bone without harming him in the least. Gasping and opening his eyes as he dropped the inured animal and pulled back, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and looked at the blood staining his skin.

"Son of a bitch," Lukas said in disbelief and looked down at the barely moving animal. "I really am a vampire."

"Well at least now you believe me," Eleazer said and shook his head.

"How fast are we?" Lukas asked in wonder.

"We each have different abilities. Some are faster than others, you're great uncle Emmett is by far one of the strongest vampires I've ever met."

"Wait, what?" Lukas shook his head. "No way. My great grandfather told me stories about his brother disappearing. He never said anything about him being a vampire."

"That's because we have one very strict rule among our kind. Humans must not know about us."

"But that means that Bellaniece and my son…my wife, what does she think happened to me?"

Eleazer looked at the man, standing silent as he contemplated just how to tell the man the news that his wife was dead. His children were safe, but what was he supposed to tell Lukas?

"Hey!" Lukas shouted when Eleazer failed to answer him. "What does my wife think happened to me?"

"Lukas, about your wife and children…"


End file.
